Playtech is to splash out €846mln for Italian rival Snaitech.

The company already has backing for its bid from shareholders accounting for around 70.6% of the issued share capital of Snaitech and is obliged to make an offer to buy the remainder of Snaitech’s shares on the same terms.

In 2017, Snaitech generated underlying earnings (Ebitda) of €136mln on revenue of €890mln.

Playtech expects to extract material annual cost synergies of €10mln as well as revenue synergies.

The acquisition will be funded by a combination of existing cash resources and new debt facilities; the enlarged group’s net debt leverage will still be less than 1.5 times 2017’s Ebitda.

“The acquisition of Snaitech represents the continuation of our strategy to invest in leading retail brands in fast growing, regulated markets,” said Mor Weizer, the chief executive officer of Playtech.

“The acquisition delivers the board’s strategic objective to improve the quality and diversification of group revenue, whilst delivering exposure to high growth end markets, by utilising the strength of Playtech’s balance sheet,” Weizer added.