Two of Europe’s largest bingo clubs have changed ownership in a deal supported by Knights’ expert team.
Buzz Bingo completed the acquisition of two MERKUR-owned clubs in Cricklewood and Northampton earlier this month.
The deal sees the clubs, which welcomed more than 400,000 guests collectively last year, join the UK’s largest bingo operator and allows MERKUR to focus on slots and casino businesses as it grows in the gaming industry.
MERKUR’s CFO Egemen Coskun paid tribute to the support from a wide-ranging team of experts at Knights:
“Thank you Paul, James and the Knights team for supporting us so well on this important project for MERKUR. Your team has simply been first class.”
Knights’ team was led by Paul Batchelor and James Sparks alongside Ashley Simpson, Paige Gillott (Corporate), Mark Anton-Smith and Krystal Gibbins (Real Estate), Jenny Colver (Employment), Julian Moran (Tax), Dan Mackelden and Rayyan Mughal (Commercial), Tori Lethaby (Data Protection) and Ben Travers (Intellectual Property).
Other advisers on the transaction included Poppleston Allen, Grant Thornton, RSM and Squire Patton Boggs.
Paul Batchelor, Partner at Knights, said:
“It was a pleasure to work with the MERKUR team on this key strategic project for them. I was very proud of our full service team for delivering a complex transaction – expertly led by Senior Associate James Sparks.”
With 23 offices nationwide, Knights is the largest regional legal services business in the UK. The business is ranked within the top 50 UK law firms by revenue – providing multiple services to business clients alongside premium advisory services to private individuals.