SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
PE giant Blackstone is ready to shake up Spanish gambling by listing CIRSA SA on the Bolsa Madrid exchange in early 2025.
New developments were cited by Spanish business news source Expansión, reporting that “Blackstone has enlisted a fleet of banks” to capitalise CIRSA’s Madrid IPO.
The future of Blackstone’s ownership of CIRSA has been speculated on since 2022, as the Spanish gambling group returned to operating profits following the COVID-19 pandemic.
CIRSA has been under Blackstone’s ownership since 2018. The PE fund acquired the gambling group from founder Manuel Lao Hernandez for €2bn to continue building its European gambling portfolio.
Following its corporate reorganisation, CIRSA has outperformed market expectations since 2022. The company is on track to deliver full-year 2024 targets of net revenues of over €2bn, an EBITDA of €680–710m, and a leverage ratio of 3.7x–3.9x.
Expansión cites that Blackstone has prepped domestic and international banks to prepare a listing of 20–25% of CIRSA’s shareholding on the Bolsa Madrid.
Blackstone seeks to raise between €700m and €1bn for the initial pricing of CIRSA, instead of its former plan to carry out a full IPO.
Investment bank Lazard has been appointed as the financial advisor for the IPO, with Barclays, Deutsche Bank, and Morgan Stanley leading capital for global markets.
In Spain, CIRSA operates a network of over 30,000 gambling machines across recreational and hospitality venues, 40 bingo halls, six casinos, and 237 arcades.
Outside Spain, this year CIRSA acquired a 70% stake in Apuesta Total to become the largest operator in Peru.The deal saw CIRSA add Apuesta Total’s 500 betting points and online sportsbook to its Peruvian portfolio of 19 casinos and 3,200 slot machines.
