Canadian online gaming company CryptoLogic announced today that it has signed an agreement to purchase the poker brand and related assets of Parbet.com, a popular Scandinavian online poker room.
CryptoLogic companies will license the Parbet assets, poker software, payment processing services, and multilingual customer support and services to a private Maltese online gaming company that will operate Parbet.com. The agreement is subject to certain closing conditions.
The purchase agreement includes all rights to the Parbet brand name, associated domain names such as Parbet.com, customer lists, databases, and players' cash on deposit. Under the agreement, CryptoLogic's subsidiary, WagerLogic, will pay €9 million for the brand and assets, and potentially additional amounts up to €4 million, contingent on improved performance of the assets over a six-month earn-out period.
Parbet generates approximately $7 million in revenue annually. CryptoLogic expects the licensing arrangement to add approximately $2 million to 2007 earnings.
The deal is expected to be completed by Jan. 15.
Through WagerLogic, CryptoLogic owns several online poker brands that it leases to third-party companies, such as InterCasino, InterPoker, and ExtremePoker. It also develops software for gaming companies around the world.
By the end of January, CryptoLogic will have launched five online poker sites. Potentially the most popularly one, Playboy Poker, will be launched at the end of this month.
