[Click eStock] "Netmarble's Acquisition of SpinX Positive for Global Revenue Expansion"

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] NH Investment & Securities evaluated Netmarble's acquisition of SpinX as positive in terms of expanding the global revenue share.

On the previous day, Netmarble announced that it had decided to acquire 100% of the shares of SpinX, a mobile social casino game company, for $2.19 billion (approximately 2.5 trillion KRW). Social casino refers to games such as slot machines, bingo, and poker, which are available in casinos but have been moved online and to mobile platforms, with the main market being North America.

Jaemin Ahn, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, said, "Netmarble's acquisition of SpinX is positive in terms of expanding influence in the social casino market, diversifying the game portfolio, securing stable cash flow, and increasing the proportion of global revenue."

The acquisition price of 2.5 trillion KRW corresponds to a trailing price-to-earnings ratio (PER) of 22.8 times in 2020, which is not considered excessively expensive when compared to Playtika, the world's number one social casino company, with an expected PER of 25.3 times in 2021, taking into account the control premium. Researcher Ahn explained, "Although it is more expensive compared to DoubleU Games, which is listed domestically with a 2021 PER of 8.3 times, there is a difference in that the listing of DoubleU Games' subsidiary DoubleDown Interactive has been delayed multiple times, and SpinX's performance growth is more remarkable."

SpinX is the third largest global social casino company, recording sales of 470.1 billion KRW and net profit of 110.1 billion KRW in 2020. These figures represent increases of 99.1% and 119.8%, respectively, compared to the same period the previous year. In the first quarter of this year, sales were 159 billion KRW and net profit was 32 billion KRW, continuing a high growth trend.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.