Entain to close STS deal on 24 August

Entain Plc will proceed to finalise its acquisition of STS Holdings, having secured unanimous shareholder approval to acquire the Warsaw-listed online betting group.

This afternoon, the board of Entain declared that its £750m acquisition offer had been accepted by “STS shareholders holding a total of 155,591,656 shares, corresponding to approximately 99.3% of the total issued share capital.”

As it stands, Entain expects to conclude its latest M&A deal on 24 August 2023, by acquiring the remaining shares not tendered in the offer and delisting STS Holdings from the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

Entain initiated its approach for STS Holdings on 13 June, undertaking a £600m bookbuild in new capital to acquire Poland’s market-leading online betting group (+51% of market share).

The deal has been co-funded by the CEE private equity fund EMMA Capital, which committed £150m in capital to propose a premium of £750m for STS Holdings.

Prior to today’s STS shareholder vote, Entain’s offer had been accepted by the enterprise founders, the Juroszek family, representing 70% of the STS share capital.

STS properties will operate under the joint-venture subsidiary of Entain CEE, backed by EMMA Capital as the principal investor.

The Entain CEE venture was founded last summer, following the £690m purchase of Croatia’s SuperSport. Entain maintains a majority stake of 75% in the organisation formed in partnership with EMMA Capital.

An enlarged Entain CEE will be led by Radim Haluza, who will continue to oversee the growth strategy of STS and SuperSport as individual brands.

Dealmakers outlined that the acquisition of STS presents the outright opportunity for Entain to become the leading sports betting platform for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), taking the top podium place in the region’s largest marketplace.