Digital gaming investment firm Tekkorp Capital has created a new advisory arm to provide strategic advice to the global iGaming, digital sports betting and Web 3.0 ecosystems, the company announced on Monday. Additionally, Crispin Nieboer, former CEO of William Hill Online, will join the firm’s expanded team as a Partner.
Tekkorp Capital, an investment vehicle set up by gaming entrepreneur and former SG Digital CEO Matt Davey, will now offer advisory in a range of services including M&A, strategic and operational advice. The firm describes itself as having “a powerful track record” of investing in fast-growing and innovative companies, both public and private, and thus saw adding advisory services to businesses as “the logical next step.”
Nieboer, Tekkorp’s latest addition, is set to join Davey (Chairman and CEO), Robin Chhabra (President) and Eric Matejevich (CFO), along with a team “of seasoned executives.” The executive was the former CEO of William Hill’s online gaming business and Group Director of Global M&A.
Matt Davey, Tekkorp Chairman and CEO
While leading Corporate Development for the London-based gaming giant, Nieboer helped deliver a string of deals in the US, including the £2.9 billion ($3.8 billion) sale of the company to Caesars Entertainment, and the pending ~£2 billion ($2.6 billion) sale of William Hill’s non-US assets to 888 Holdings.
“The opportunity to join up with such an impressive group of people at Tekkorp Capital does not come along very often,” said Nieboer. “As a team, we have advised or executed on over $24 billion of deals in the digital gambling sector to date.”
The executive further said the combined experience of the team -with all executives having held CEO, MD or CFO roles at major digital operators- gives the company an advantage: “This knowledge of what works from an operator standpoint in M&A is the real key difference between Tekkorp Capital and other advisory firms in our industry,” he commented.
In addition to Nieboer’s experience in William Hill, Tekkorp leverages the hands-on experience of President Robin Chhabra, who served as The Stars Group’s Chief Corporate Development Officer, leading the acquisition of Sky Betting and Gaming from CVC Capital Partners and Sky plc, Europe’s largest media company; and the subsequent TSG merger with Flutter.
Meanwhile, Tekkorp’s CFO Eric Matejevich is described by the firm as “a veteran CFO/COO” of multiple gaming companies, including NYX, Atlantic Club, Resorts International and Cannery Casino Resorts, and was latterly the Interim CEO for Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City.
The firm has also made a series of further announcements, welcoming media and gaming specialist and entrepreneur Andry Clerkson as Partner. He is the founder of gambling tech firm Grand Parade, and has been engaged as strategic adviser to The Stars Group, William Hill and Flutter in the US.
Also joining as Senior Investment Associate will be Martin Kostov, an investment professional with experience in technology, gaming, media and entertainment, including at Goldman Sachs, William Hill, Sky Betting & Gaming, and in the family office of Teddy Sagi, founder of Playtech.
The team is completed by two associate partners: Roger Lu, who leads Tekkorp’s cryptocurrency and blockchain initiatives; and former PokerStars executive Tarvi Randver, who provides strategic operational advice to Tekkorp clients and portfolio companies.
“Tekkorp Capital has been inundated with requests from multinational corporations through to innovators in the global digital gaming sector to provide strategic advice. We have now assembled a team with an unrivaled blend of M&A and operational leadership experience to ensure we can provide the best possible guidance on a range of complex issues facing executives in the sector today,” said Tekkorp Capital founder and CEO Matt Davey.
Tekkorp Capital also manages NASDAQ-listed blank check company Tekkorp Digital Acquisition Corp., which seeks “high growth businesses that will benefit from transformative expertise and access to the world’s largest public capital markets.”
