Cherry AB Purchases Almor Holding in German Power Move

In the online casino world, companies are constantly being bought and sold in strategic maneuvers to try to pick up larger pieces of the market or create capital to further other initiatives. This is the case with Cherry AB, a Swedish group that centers around online gambling as they have made a major power move in the country of Germany with a recent purchase. This purchase is of Almor Holding Limited, an online casino company that focuses almost exclusively on German-speaking areas.

Market Influence

The key to this acquisition is the popularity that Almor has gained. They have picked up more than 55,000 active players so far this year, and they have over 350,000 players registered in total. They offer online casino games, but they also offer online sports betting as well, and they've been around since 2011 across three major brands. Those brands are Kingplayer, Sunnyplayer and Sunmaker. This move shows that Cherry AP is looking to gain a major foothold in Germany, and it shows that they could be positioning themselves to jump into other regulated markets as well.

The European Strategy

Right now, there are several regulated markets in Europe. There are two basic ways to get in on the action in one of these markets. The first is to apply for a license, establish a brand and build up a customer base organically over time. The second is to simply purchase a company that is already licensed and that already has an established fan base. The latter is what Cherry AB is doing here, and this approach is likely the better of the two for them.

The key to this strategy is that they're paying for an initial boost in the reach of their product. The idea is that they will earn more than the amount they paid for the 71 percent of the shares of Almor Holding Limited that they now own in the meantime. With this acquisition, Cherry AB will hold every available German license for online gambling, and this is important because of the way that regulation works in that particular country. Multiple licenses are required to offer games to players in different parts of Germany, and that makes this purchase even more strategic.