Entain CEE cleared to acquire Poland’s STS Group

Entain CEE has received approval from Poland’s competition watchdog.

Poland.- The Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection has approved Entain CEE’s deal to acquire Poland’s largest betting operator STS. The competition watchdog said it was “satisfied with the conditions” of Entain’s tender to buy the Warsaw-listed group.

Entain CEE had offered to pay PLN 24.80 (£4.80) per share offer to acquire STS, valuing the operator at £750m. Antitrust approval was required because STS’s share of the Polish sports betting market is more than 51 per cent.

Entain has secured most of the funds for the acquisition through a £600m private bookbuild. The deal will be 25 per cent funded by the CEE private equity fund EMMA Capital. STS is currently 70 per cent owned by Juroszek Foundations. The family will receive a 10 per cent stake in Entain CEE.

The board of Entain is to open an acceptance period for its offer today (July 14) until mid-August. The acquisition is expected to close shortly afterwards.

STS Holding Q2 results

Entain will publish its Interim 2023 results on August 10. Meanwhile, STS Holdings has reported a 14 per cent rise in Q2 revenue to PLN 298m. Revenue from its Polish operations rose by 26 per cent year-on-year to PLN 170m. It has smaller operations in the UK and Estonia which it is planning to wind up.

Stakes were up by 3 per cent to PLN 1.10bn. However, the number of active users fell from 348,00 to 301,000.

Mateusz Juroszek, who will remain as STS CEO after Entain CEE’s acquisition, said: “The operating results for Q2 2023 confirm that STS is performing well in the Polish market. The potential of the domestic igaming industry is high and STS is able to effectively exploit its market position. We hope to record the highest player activity in the last quarter of this year.”

The Juroszek family has become the largest shareholder in GiG with an 11.08% stake.