SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Penta Investments is reported to be weighing up a ‘possible sale’ of its gambling asset, Fortuna Entertainment Group (FEG).
As reported by Reuters, the Central and Eastern European private equity fund is open to offers to acquire Fortuna Entertainment, recognised as the biggest betting firm of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The private equity fund of Czech moguls Jaroslav Hascak and Marek Dospiva is speculated to want a €2bn sale of Fortuna Entertainment – a development cited by Reuters from “a person with knowledge of the company, speaking on the condition of anonymity.”
In 2017, Penta took outright control of Fortuna Entertainment, acquiring the firm’s full shareholding from the Warsaw Exchange.
Prior to the takeover, Penta had financed Fortuna Entertainment’s acquisition of Balkan gambling group Hattrick Sports Group, in a move that would see the Czech betting group take control of Romania’s Casa Pariurilor and Croatia’s PSK Sports brands.
Reuters reports that Penta has hired “JPMorgan to explore options for the business,” in which dealmakers believe that Fortuna can fetch a premium valuation from Western competitors seeking to expand in underpenetrated CEE & EE betting markets.
Primarily investing in Eastern European markets and enterprises, Penta maintains a portfolio value of €14.5bn. Key assets include Slovakian retail bank Prima, food processor Caribona, and Czech media group VLM Media.
Neither Penta, Fortuna Entertainment, nor JPMorgan confirmed the news report.
