CVC Capital Partners grabbed headlines this week with an announcement that it would seek to acquire a 100% stake in Gaming Laboratories International (GLI), one of the foremost authorities in testing the fairness of games and products in the gambling industry.
CVC Capital Partners makes play for the world’s leading gaming test lab
CVC Capital Partners is effectively looking to expand its portfolio as it already has invested in the sports and entertainment sectors and is interested in strengthening its positions. GLI specializes in game testing and pre-certification, test automation, R&D, training and education, and responsible gambling services, among others.
The deal is moving forward through a CVC Capital Partners’ affiliate in the United Kingdom – Avalon Buyer Limited – which wants to assume full control over GLI, as well as GLI affiliates Worldwide Laboratories LLC, and Kobetron LLC.
Should it succeed, CVC Capital Partners will become the sole owner of the GLI assets and affiliated businesses. More details about the deals were garnered from filings in Malta and Austria, which confirmed Avalon Buyer’s intention to purchase and acquire full ownership of the target company.
Avalon Buyer is a recently incorporated company under the CVC Capital Partners’ umbrella, and funded directly by CVC Funds, with interests in a number of companies from different industries. As to GLI itself, the company has more than 1,800 peopleemployed across 35 jurisdictions across the world, making it one of the most formidable testing agencies in the gaming industry.
The recent acquisition of BMM Testlabs reveals a trend
The acquisition of CVC Capital Partners is not fully surprising, given another similar move by Visualize Group, which bought out BMMTestlabs, a direct rival to GLI. CVC is also expanding its gaming influence and building on previous experience, which saw the private-equity firm previously hold stakes in prominent gaming companies such as Sisal, WilliamHill, and Sky Bet.
The filings with respective regulators were submitted on July 3 in Austria and on July 11 in Malta. Both filings reaffirmed CVC Capital Partners’ intention to acquire the sole ownership of the company. The Austrian filing also clarifies that any stakeholders that may be impacted legally or economically have until July 31 to submit a written comment.
