SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
France’s Economic & Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has hailed the public listing of Française des Jeux (FDJ) as a success for the government’s ‘Pacte Loi’ enterprise mandate – as FDJ secures a share subscription to date of over €1 billion on the Paris Euronext Exchange.
FDJ’s stock went live on Friday 8 November, with the French government adding listing terms to ensure that a third of company shares could only be acquired by public investors.
A week on from its oversubscribed Paris debut, FDJ bookrunners detail that the lottery and sports betting operator will raise its funding to €1.7 billion by the end of month trading.
In addition, bookrunners detail that FDJ is tracking at the ‘higher-end’ of its IPO guidance range of €16.50-19.90, placing Europe’s second largest lottery operator’s corporate valuation at €3.8-4 billion.
Speaking to French media this weekend, Bruno Le Maire hailed FDJ’s IPO as ‘an immense public benefit’, backing En Marche’s plans for further privatisations of French state-controlled enterprises.
In his address, Le Marie reminded the French public to take advantage of FDJ’s IPO, which will be restricted to public investors until Tuesday 19 November, with the government maintaining a 2% discount on retail share options.
Retaining 20% of corporate shareholdings, the French state remains the biggest shareholder in FDJ, which will continue to generate revenues for French charity and heritage foundations.
