{"id":215622,"date":"2022-06-01T11:04:40","date_gmt":"2022-06-01T18:04:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=215622"},"modified":"2022-06-01T11:23:38","modified_gmt":"2022-06-01T18:23:38","slug":"jan-svendsen-doles-out-critiscm-toward-gan-ceo-smurfit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/jan-svendsen-doles-out-critiscm-toward-gan-ceo-smurfit\/","title":{"rendered":"Coolbet CEO Svendsen Rips GAN Leadership in LinkedIn Post"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Coolbet CEO and founder Jan Svendsen recently took to LinkedIn with scathing commentary on GAN Ltd. (NASDAQ:GAN) — the gaming technology provider that acquired his company last year.<\/p>\n

\"Coolbet
Coolbet founder Jan Svendsen. He has some choice words for GAN leadership. (Image: Zip News<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Svendsen, a 35-year gaming industry veteran with a track record of starting companies and selling those entities to larger rivals, unleashed his criticism of GAN ahead of the company\u2019s annual meeting. That’swith the shares down almost 81% over the past year.<\/p>\n

The former Coolbet boss didn\u2019t hold back, levying harsh words at GAN and CEO Dermot Smurfit. He opined on issues regarding lavish executive compensation to sending the wrong messages to Coolbet managers that joined the company, among others.<\/p>\n

One of the most disappointing issues is the amount of the salaries and bonuses the leaders and the board have been paying themselves. 2021 was a horrible Year for GAN; GAN did not deliver on the bottom line and the share price dropped significantly. Regardless, the leadership team gave themselves huge bonuses. Why? Aren\u2019t bonuses something you should pay out when you produce positive results?,\u201d<\/strong> said Svendsen in his LinkedIn post.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Data confirm GAN\u2019s time as a public company has been trying. Its May 2020 initial public offering (IPO) was priced at $8.50 a share, and from there, the stock caught some of the 2020 gaming equity rally. The shares flirted with $32 in February 2021. But by late November that year, the stock labored around $10<\/a>. Shares of GAN reside at $3.33 at this writing.<\/p>\n

Svendsen Wasn\u2019t Enamored with GAN Takeover<\/h2>\n

In November 2020, GAN offered $175 million in cash and equity for Coolbet \u2013 a move that was heralded by analysts. At that time, the buyer said the purchase would be accretive to earnings, and gives the buyer an avenue for bolstering its offerings targeted at iGaming and sportsbook operators<\/a>, two of its marquee clientele in the US.<\/p>\n

Svendsen said he had \u201cmany reservations\u201d about GAN acquiring his company, and that he signed off on the deal out of respect for Coolbet board members, investors, and managers that made it possible for him to build the company.<\/p>\n

\n

At the time the deal was announced Coolbet was debt-free<\/a>, slightly profitable on the basis of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), and sported breakeven operating income. Today, Coolbet, in Svendsen\u2019s estimation, is the jewel of the GAN crown.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Coolbet founder notes the entity he started is the only part of GAN that\u2019s making money today, and \u201cIf you separated Coolbet from GAN, the value of Coolbet on its own would twice as much as GAN now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Svendsen has skin in the game. He owns 840,000 shares of GAN and his son is chief financial officer of Coolbet. Additionally, he mentored Coolbet\u2019s chief executive officer for 20 years.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Board, Organizational Structure Criticized<\/h2>\n

Svendsen acknowledges that he wanted a role at GAN, as he wasn\u2019t ready to retire, and ultimately decided to leave the company because he was offered a mid-level role in Spain — a position well-below his qualifications.<\/p>\n

Still, he took issue with the board\u2019s apparent unwillingness to check Smurfit and its preference for using share options grants almost exclusively for directors and high-ranking executives.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think the Board is very professional at GAN. From what I heard, the Chairman is an old friend of the Smurfit family. Dermot Smurfit\u2019s uncle also serves on the Board,\u201d notes Svendsen. \u201cIn addition, the CFO of GAN, Karen Flores, serves on the Board. In my opinion, one of the responsibilities of the Board is to look after GAN\u2019s money; it does not seem wise to have the CFO serve on the Board. My general impression is that the Board is weak and more like a \u2018yes Dermot\u2019 Board.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The former Coolbet leader also said GAN\u2019s organizational structure is ineffective, with leaders spread across the world, making in-person meetings difficult.<\/p>\n

On a more positive note, Svendsen believes GAN has \u201cgreat potential,\u201d particularly if it embraces new leadership. He\u2019s optimistic about the growth prospects for iGaming in the US, and believes GAN could be an acquisition target<\/a> in the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former Coolbet CEO and founder Jan Svendsen recently took to LinkedIn with scathing commentary on GAN Ltd. (NASDAQ:GAN) — the gaming technology provider that acquired his company last year. Svendsen, a 35-year gaming industry veteran with a track record of starting companies and selling those entities to larger rivals, unleashed his criticism of GAN ahead […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":215623,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33810,16693],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nJan Svendsen Doles Out Critiscm Toward GAN, CEO Smurfit<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Coolbet founder Jan Svendsen doesn't hold back in recent post critiquing GAN leadership.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/jan-svendsen-doles-out-critiscm-toward-gan-ceo-smurfit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jan Svendsen Doles Out Critiscm Toward GAN, CEO Smurfit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Coolbet founder Jan Svendsen doesn't hold back in recent post critiquing GAN leadership.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/jan-svendsen-doles-out-critiscm-toward-gan-ceo-smurfit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-06-01T18:04:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-06-01T18:23:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/JS.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1378\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@etfgodfather\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/jan-svendsen-doles-out-critiscm-toward-gan-ceo-smurfit\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/jan-svendsen-doles-out-critiscm-toward-gan-ceo-smurfit\/\",\"name\":\"Jan Svendsen Doles Out Critiscm Toward GAN, CEO Smurfit\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/jan-svendsen-doles-out-critiscm-toward-gan-ceo-smurfit\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/jan-svendsen-doles-out-critiscm-toward-gan-ceo-smurfit\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/JS.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-06-01T18:04:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-06-01T18:23:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\"},\"description\":\"Coolbet founder Jan Svendsen doesn't hold back in recent post critiquing GAN leadership.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/jan-svendsen-doles-out-critiscm-toward-gan-ceo-smurfit\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/jan-svendsen-doles-out-critiscm-toward-gan-ceo-smurfit\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/jan-svendsen-doles-out-critiscm-toward-gan-ceo-smurfit\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/JS.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/JS.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1378,\"caption\":\"Coolbet founder Jan Svendsen. 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