OPAP seals €95m deal to increase Stoiximan stake

Greek gaming operator OPAP Group has agreed to acquire a 51% stake in Stoiximan Group’s Greek and Cypriot operations for a total consideration of €94.86m.

The deal sees OPAP’s OPAP Invest arm acquire the stake from GML Interactive, a subsidiary of Stoiximan parent company TCB Holdings, and gain joint control of the business alongside two of TCB’s existing shareholders.

It follows OPAP’s acquisition of a 36.75% stake in Stoiximan, announced in September 2018, for a total consideration of €50m.

As part of that deal, which was finalised in December last year, OPAP and TCB signed a pre-agreement that would allow it to take control of the Greek and Cypriot business. Stoiximan generates the bulk of revenue from these two markets, though it is also active in the German and Romanian markets via its Betano brand.

The acquisition was subject to a due diligence process, which has now been completed, and clearance from the Greek and Cypriot gaming regulatory and anti-trust authorities, which is yet to be secured.

Having generated revenue of €136m and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of around €16m in 2017, OPAP noted that Stoiximan had seen revenue for the first 11 months of 2018 grow by around 30% year-on-year. This was driven by significant growth across all markets, with active customer numbers up around 29% over the same period.

For the year ahead the operator aims to further strengthen its position in the Greek and Cypriot markets, invest in its technology and pursue opportunities for expansion in other territories.