SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Spanish business news source El Confidencial reports that the governance of Grupo Codere SA has sanctioned investment bank Credit Suisse to lead its corporate refinancing, as the Bolsa Madrid gambling group reviews its South American options.
The Swiss multinational bank is reported to have been given a two-fold mandate by Codere governance, being ordered to raise capital for new expansion projects and further undertaking a review of loss-making assets/divisions.
Credit Suisse will likely carry out an operational review of Codere’s position within Argentina, the firm’s biggest operational market which plunged 2018 results, due to the Argentine Peso collapse.
Furthermore, news of Credit Suisse appointment follows speculation in Spanish media that Codere governance will likely sanction a sale of the firm’s Italian bingo and arcade properties, as increased GGR taxes have made Italy an unworkable territory for the Spanish legacy gambling group.
Advancing future options, Credit Suisse is reported to be raising ‘necessary financing’ for Codere to form a LATAM strategic partnership with US entertainment and leisure group Hard Rock International.
Securing new capital, Codere governance seeks to entice Hard Rock into a Mexican strategic partnership in which it will operate gambling units within Hard Rock’s four luxury Mexican hotel properties of Cancun, Los Cabos, Cozumel and Lázaro Cárdenas.
Rapid Mexican expansion remains top of Codere governance’s agenda, with Credit Suisse reported to be assessing a potential buyout of Mexican media group Televisa’s 17 ‘Play City’ gambling establishments.
Following an executive team shake-up in 2018, Televisa, Mexico’s biggest multimedia group announced that it would offload its entire Play City gambling division – seeking a ‘quickfire $300 million sale’.
Closer to home, corporate stakeholders will be monitoring next month’s Group AGM closely, as Codere governance seeks to end the firm’s ongoing dispute between US debt holders and the enterprise founding Martinez Sampedro family.
Entering a crucial H2 2019 period, in which Codere leadership seeks to implement various group transformation initiatives, the Spanish firm seeks to end a bitter board-level dispute which may impact future financing and growth strategies.
