Danske Spil Sells Stake in Swush
DENMARK (January 12, 2024) — Holdet.dk is Denmark’s absolute leading developer and provider of manager games, and now the popular meeting point for thousands of sports-loving users will have a new owner. The Danske Spil-owned company Danske Licens Spil has thus chosen to sell its ownership stake of 60 per cent. in Swush.com ApS, the company behind Holdet.dk, to Ekstra Bladet.
Managing editor-in-chief at Ekstra Bladet, Anders Borup Sørensen, describes the purchase as another decisive milestone in Ekstra Bladet’s ambition to be a digital leader in the field of sports.
“Holdet.dk has a completely unique market position, and we are delighted that they will now become part of Ekstra Bladet. Just under nine months ago, we bought Denmark’s supremely largest and strongest football media, bold.dk, and now we are supplementing it with Holdet.dk. That combination delivers razor-sharp on our strategic ambitions, where sport is absolutely essential.
Holdet.dk has undergone great development in recent years and today has close to 200,000 users. In the future, the ambition is for the position as market leader to be further developed in close cooperation with Ekstra Bladet and bold.dk.
“Holdet.dk, bold.dk and Ekstra Bladet are, in short, a perfect match. We see great potential in further developing Holdet.dk’s strong position and business together. The purchase of Holdet.dk is a clear underlining of Ekstra Bladet’s ambition to create strong digital media that delivers appealing and relevant content to a large audience,” says Signe Skarequist, commercial director at Ekstra Bladet.
Holdet.dk will continue as an independent brand and business and will be further developed in close cooperation with the two founders and continuing co-owners, Ole Christensen and Jesper Bjørn Carstensen, who are both looking forward to embarking on a new journey of growth together with Ekstra Bladet.
Managing director of Swush.com ApS, Ole Christensen, is happy about the journey Holdet.dk has been on and to continue working together with Ekstra Bladet.
“Jesper and I launched Holdet.dk in 2009, and we are incredibly proud to have created such a large and popular game universe that thousands of committed couch trainers use daily. We look forward to working closely with Ekstra Bladet and bold.dk to make sports more fun for even more sports fans.”
There is also great satisfaction at Danske Spil, which says goodbye to Holdet.dk after eight and a half years of ownership.
“We have greatly appreciated the co-ownership, and we are proud of recent years’ progress in Swush and for Holdet.dk. At the same time, we are happy that we have now found a good, new home for Holdet.dk. We look forward to following the further development under Ekstra Bladet, where the gaming platform matches better with the company’s strategic ambitions, and that they can thus help lift Holdet.dk further,” says Nikolas Lyhne-Knudsen, chairman of the board of Danske Licens Spil and CEO in the Danish Games.
The deal requires approval by Danske Spil’s general meeting at an extraordinary general meeting. If the deal is approved as expected, Ekstra Bladet will become the main owner of Swush.com ApS per 31 January 2024. It has been agreed between the parties that the purchase price will not be published.
For further information
- Anders Borup Sørensen, managing editor-in-chief, Ekstra Bladet: 50 60 08 30
- Signe Skarequist, commercial director, Ekstra Bladet: 30 10 33 21
- Ole Christensen, CEO, Swush.com ApS: 22 50 56 57
- Line Bruun, communications manager, Danske Spil: 21 28 57 89
About Ekstra Bladet Ekstra Bladet is Denmark’s strongest digital news media. Every day we are in contact with close to a million users who follow breaking news in Denmark and around the world. They read and watch videos about crime, entertainment and sports and visit ekstrabladet.dk close to 100 million times a month. Commercially, Ekstra Bladet sets the standard with, among other things, the data platform Relevance and Platform Intelligence in News, which develops responsible AI and machine learning for the news media of the future. And editorially, we prioritize both the fast news and major excavation projects – such as in 2022 has resulted in the Cavling Prize.
About Holdet.dk Swush.com ApS is a developer and operator of manager games, including Holdet.dk. In these games, thousands of Danes month after month pit their fictitious teams of professional athletes in motorsport, golf, cycling and football against each other. Users earn points based on the actual in-game performance of their chosen athletes. With over 20 years of experience in the industry, Swush has established itself as a leading platform on the Danish market. In 2022, Swush had almost 190,000 active users participating in season-based manager games on the Danish market.
About Danske Licens Spil
Danske Licens Spil A/S is one of the subsidiaries of the gaming company Danske Spil. Danske Licens Spil runs the activities that are exposed to competition under the gambling legislation, including sports and casino games.
SOURCE: Danske Spil.
