Gambling giant Flutter Entertainment has bought online betting firm Tombola in a deal worth more than £400m.
The owner of the Betfair and Paddy Power brands expects the deal for Sunderland's Tombola to be completed early next year, subject to approval from competition authorities.
It will pay £402m in cash for the business, which employs more than 700 people and is known for its sponsorship of the ITV programme I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.
It said it was “100%” committed to retaining Tombola as a Sunderland business, and hoped to use its scale grow the operation and offer new opportunities to its staff.
Read more : go here for more North East business news
Tombola - which was founded by Phil Cronin in 2006 - recently completed a move to a new headquarters in Sunderland and has around 400,000 monthly players on its online bingo and slot machine games.
In its latest accounts, the company announced revenues of £120.1m and and an operating profit of £12m.
Flutter - which owns the Paddy Power and Betfair bookmaker chains and also operates the Poker Stars brand - said the deal to buy Tombola would enhance its position in online gambling.
Chief executive Peter Jackson said: As the world’s leading online gambling operator, Flutter is delighted to add Tombola, the UK’s premier bingo brand to the group. Tombola is a business we have long admired for its product expertise, highly recreational customer base and focus on sustainable play.
“The brand aligns closely with Flutter’s safer gambling strategy, a key area of focus for us. I am excited to combine Flutter’s digital marketing expertise with Tombola’s operational capabilities within the UK & Ireland division.
“As the time comes for Phil to hand over the reins, I would like to thank him for building the success story that the business is today, and I look forward to welcoming the Tombola team to Flutter and growing a sustainable business for the future together.”
