Dutch digital gaming & adtech startup Azerion raises €200M to expand its services in Europe

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Schiphol-Rijk, Netherlands-based Azerion, a digital gaming and adtech company, has raised €200M in bond issuance on Nasdaq Stockholm.

This new issue will refinance a €100M bond issued on the Frankfurt exchange last year. It is rare for a private company to raise these levels of capital, but Azerion has seen an exponential growth by acquiring gaming and monetisation technology companies and quickly building their revenue to grab investor attention. 

Last year’s bond was met with significant investor interest and the company has experienced a similar response to this new bond.

According to a press release from Azerion, Sweden historically represents an important country for Azerion, both in terms of revenues and local presence. Their bond issuances keep meeting growing interest amongst Nordic institutional investors looking for attractive investment opportunities in the gaming space.

How will the funds be utilised?

Predominantly, a significant part of the capital will be used to expand Azerion’s presence in the European adtech/gaming market with the acquisitions of Swedish tech assets. The company is also looking to grow in other Nordic countries.

In addition, the proceeds will also be utilised to finance multiple acquisitions across the platform, adding both new gaming content as well as creating revenue opportunities. “These acquisitions help us in our mission to bring a wide range of entertainment content for consumers while enabling content providers to engage with users in a safe, reliable, and meaningful way,” says the company in a statement. 

Secure ecosystem

Founded in 2014 by two Dutch entrepreneurs Umut Akpinar and Atilla Aytekin, Azerion claims to have built an ecosystem that combines content, technology, and data for publishers, advertisers, and consumers. 

The company develops and operates a safe and reliable online social gaming and entertainment platform for people of all ages to enjoy. Besides, it also has monetisation features and provides solutions to automate the purchase and sale of digital advertising for media buyers and sellers. It has more than 900 employees across 19 offices.

Atilla Aytekin, Azerion’s co-CEO says, “Online entertainment has become central to people’s lives. It has enormous business potential. Our vision is to make digital entertainment better, safer, and more reliable. That way everyone can enjoy the basic human need to play in a carefree environment, and advertising and publishing businesses can thrive.”

Since its inception, Azerion has had an active acquisitions strategy, adding to the Azerion family 38 companies in the digital entertainment and technology sectors. It layers these acquisitions on top of its existing business into a single, coherent platform. And within this ecosystem, these businesses have grown organically and work seamlessly with each other.

Atilla explains, “The gaming business represents a total annual market of  $175B. We’re well on our way to becoming the biggest platform in Europe with our vision to serve that market. Our goal is to create a safe, connected, and intelligent ecosystem (enabled through our technology) that will accelerate the growth of European companies connected to our operations.”

The new bonds are expected to be listed on Nasdaq exchange in Stockholm.

Acquisitions and funding

Last year, the gaming company had secured €12.5M in funding. The company also witnessed huge growth in the first nine months of 2020 with a revenue of €139M.

Earlier in January 2021, Azerion announced the acquisition of Sulake – the creators of the popular social game Habbo Hotel. Sulake is an online entertainment company focused on virtual worlds and social networking.

Some of Azerion’s acquisition companies include Improve Digital, HiMedia Germany, Zoomin, Collective Media Europe, Widespace, Sellbranch, Sulake, Smeet, Semilo, Adpulse, Adux, and the mobile division of Spil Games.

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