SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Entain Plc has been granted antitrust approval to proceed with its £750m acquisition of STS Group, Poland’s largest betting group.
The FTSE100 gambling group informed investors this morning that Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection was “satisfied with the conditions of its tender” to acquire Warsaw-listed STS Holdings.
Dealmakers required the Polish government’s antitrust authorization as the STS Group accounts for more than a 51% share of Poland’s sports betting market.
Deal terms announced on 13 July will see Entain put forward a PLN 24.80 (£4.80) per share offer to acquire STS outright, which is deemed a 28-to-35% premium on STS’s trading volume for 2023.
Entain has secured the majority of funds for the £750m deal, having executed a £600m private bookbuild 24 hours after its announcement to acquire STS.
The acquisition bid will be co-financed by the CEE private equity fund EMMA Capital, which is committed to funding 25% of the deal.
The Juroszek Foundations, which hold approximately 70% of STS shares, have made irrevocable undertakings to tender their shareholding into the offer, assuring that the acceptance threshold will be met.
As stands, the remaining condition for Entain’s bid is to receive acceptances representing at least 50% of the shares in STS.
The board of Entain will proceed with launching an acceptance period for the offer, beginning on 14 July 2023, and is due to close in mid-August. The closing of the transaction is expected shortly after the acceptance period ends.
Entain will publish its Interim 2023 results on 10 August, providing an update on the STS deal and BetMGM’s progress towards profitability.
