WMS in Jadestone acquisition
Deal, for unspecified amount, comes five months after Swedish group's management buyout.
Land-based gaming machines manufacturer WMS Gaming has continued its move into online with the acquisition of Swedish developer Jadestone Group for an undisclosed sum.
The deal, aimed at enhancing WMS’ existing portfolio, is described in a release from the company as a “tuck-in acquisition” and comes just five months after Jadestone completed a management buyout from former parent company PAF.
Jadestone signed a two-and-a-half-year casino deal with Betsson in March this year, and also has B2B agreements in place with the likes of Betfair, bwin.party and Unibet.
The deal allows WMS to build on last year’s move into online under the UK-facing Jackpot Party brand, while last month saw the company agree to host Groupe Partouche’s Belgian-facing casino.
It has also applied for a licence in the Nevada egaming market, while February saw the US-based company launch its Lucky Cruise social casino on Facebook.
WMS president Orrin J Edidin said of the acquisition: “With a proven management team and a decade of experience in development and platform integration for online gaming industry leaders, Jadestone brings a complementary mix of expertise and technology solutions to WMS.”
Robert Henrysson, Jadestone’s chief executive, showed his enthusiasm for the deal, saying: “Combining our entrepreneurial creativity with WMS’ culture of innovation sets an exciting next stage in our business development.”