FDJ issues first bonds worth €1.5bn on Paris market

Listed on the Paris Euronext market, FDJ bond will be issued in three tranches with maturity set six, nine and 12 years

La Française des Jeux (FDJ) is set to launch its first bond issue to refinance the €2bn bridging loan the group took out to proceed with its €2.6bn acquisition of Kindred Group.

FDJ will meet investors over the next few days to assess market sentiment and expectations of its enlarged business.

As detailed to markets, the bond will be issued in three tranches and total €1.5bn, with maturity set at six, nine and 12 years.

On 7 November, the ratings agency Moody’s assigned FDJ a long-term credit rating of Baa1, thus giving it a “stable outlook”.

In addition, FDJ is finalising a €400m syndicated loan with “top-tier French and international banks” that will be repaid over five years.

Proceeds from the debt bond will be primarily used repay the bridging loan used to acquire Kindred and will be settled with the group’s cash flows. The bonds will be listed on the Paris Euronext market.

Last month, FDJ announced revenue growth across all business segments, even before integrating the online gambling assets of Kindred Group Plc.

Year-to-date, the Paris Euronext-listed gambling group has achieved corporate revenues of €2.09 billion, marking a 12% increase from the €1.87 billion recorded in 2023.

FDJ has begun the integration of assets, in which it projected to investors that had Kindred had been acquired on 1 January 2023, the combined revenue would have been approximately €3.5bn, with a recurring EBITDA of around €840m