888 Holdings has announced that it will be selling its Dragonfish online bingo unit to Broadway Group’s Saphalata Holdings Ltd in a deal worth $54 million. The deal reflects a larger effort by 888 Holdings to focus on its core casino and sports betting divisions and a drift away from B2B services.
Broadway Group’s Saphalata Holdings will be acquiring a constellation of bingo sites and services that mainly operate under the Dragonfish brand name. While 888 will no longer be running day-to-day operations at Dragonfish, the company will be helping the new owners with some business services as part of the deal.
Under the terms of the deal, Broadway Group’s Saphalata Holdings Ltd will pay out $50 million in cash up front to 888 Holdings. There’s another $4 million on the line for 888, should the sites meet certain, predetermined revenue goals.
Itai Pazner, CEO of 888 Holdings, described the move away from Dragonfish in a recent press release saying, “Following a strategic review, we have taken the decision to sell the bingo business. This strategic Transaction will enable 888 to further increase its focus on its core platform and unified, scalable and proprietary technology, and grow our key product verticals of casino, sport and poker, as we continue in our mission to be one of the world’s leading online betting and gaming businesses.”
888’s shift away from bingo comes on the heels of its recent purchase of William Hill’s non-US assets. With a huge number of new retail shops in its portfolio, company officials are wisely focusing on their core business.