SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
US private equity fund Apollo Global Management (Apollo) has this morning confirmed that it has acquired a 48.6% stake in Italian gambling group Gamenet SPA.
Issuing a market filing, Apollo confirms that it aims to delist the company for its index on the Borsa Milan stock exchange.
A former Italian gambling subsidiary of Greek gambling group Intralot SPA, in 2018 Gamenet became Italy’s largest multi-concession operator having acquired retail betting group Goldbet outright for €275 million.
The deal would see Gamenet aggressively expand its Italian market footprint, surpassing +1,700 concessions and servicing a retail betting network of +900 betting points. Expanding its operations in 2019, Gamenet governance has placed all sports wagering properties under the Goldbet domain.
In addition, Gamenet operates an active portfolio of 70 gaming halls and +38,000 gaming machines across Italy.
Apollo’s transaction will see the US PE firm replace Trilantic Capital Partners ‘LUX EURINVEST’ fund and Intralot SPA’s Investment unit as the main shareholder of Gamenet. Greek business news sources report that Intralot governance has sold its 20% stake in Gamenet for a reported €75 million, well above the market valuation of €45 million.
Considered one of the largest private equity funds, Apollo maintains a reported $77 billion in assets under its management. The PE fund has maintained an active presence in gambling, having formerly acted as a co-majority shareholder in US casino operator Caesars Entertainment.
