SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Lottomatica SPA has completed its €640m acquisition of SKS365 to become Italy’s largest omnichannel gambling group.
Initiated in November 2023, Lottomatica agreed to terms with Malta365 Holdings to acquire all Italian properties and assets of SKS365.
Striking a €640m deal, Lottomatica will take ownership of SKS365’s 1,000 betting shops and points operating across Italian provinces.
Boosting its retail presence, Lottomatica will incorporate SKS365 betting shops into its existing property portfolio of 3,000 betting points, 31 horse racing tracks, 19,800 VLTs, 67,000 AWP machines, and 120 gaming venues.
The M&A enables Lottomatica to further strengthen its online portfolio by acquiring SKS365’s flagship brands: PlanetWin365 for sports betting and PlanetPay365 for online casino.
Significantly, Lottomatica achieves a corporate objective with its IPO relisting on the BORSA Milan in 2023, where it outlined plans to become the biggest operator in Italian gambling.
As previously detailed by Lottomatica CEO Guglielmo Angelozzi, Lottomatica welcomes SKS365, a top-tier player in the Italian gaming sector, to our group.
“We are integrating robust and complementary brands like PlanetWin365 and PlanetPay365 into our portfolio and are fully committed to providing the requisite support during the next growth phase, leveraging the collective strengths of our expanded group.”
The acquisition of SKS365 was funded via a combination of cash and new debt bonds, as Lottomatica secured a bridge debt facility worth €500m to secure the transaction.
In further developments related to SKS365, Alexander Martin confirmed this morning that he had resigned as CEO of the company.
Posting an update on Linkedin, Martin, who has led SKS365 since 2019, stated that he would not be part of the company’s ‘new chapter.’ Martin said, “Due to the inherent changes to my role, I will be stepping down as CEO of the company. It has been a great honor to lead SKS365 since 2019.
“Together, we have built an excellent and successful company. Our consistently growing financial results are evidence of our unwavering commitment to excellence, achieving new heights yearly.
Throughout my tenure, we have faced several challenges in the industry and business, but with resilience and teamwork, we have overcome them. We have significantly improved our product offerings and customer experience and have made substantial investments in our people.”
