Lottomatica expected to advance with Milan IPO
Apollo Global is reportedly seeking an April listing.
Italy.- The Italian gambling brand Lottomatica is reportedly expected to make an IPO on the Borsa Milan Exchange within the next three months. According to Reuters, the US private equity firm Apollo Global, Lottomatica’s controlling shareholder, is aiming for an April listing.
It’s reportedly aiming for a €5bn valuation, including the company’s corporate debt, which would probably make it the biggest listing on the Borsa Milan this year.
Apollo Global backed Gamenet’s completed its €1bn acquisition of Lottomatica’s B2C business in 2021, after which the company took on the heritage Lottomatica name. It is Italy’s largest land-based gambling operator with a 3,000 betting points, 1,400 gaming halls and 13,600 tobacconist/bar gaming machines.
It’s expected to report full-year revenue of €1.4bn and EBITDA of between €458-€462m for 2022. An IPO would mean that Apollo would leave the Italian gambling market. In January, Lottomatica’s board said Apollo Global had ordered it to “review all strategic options”.
In November, Lottomatica reached an agreement to buy the online sports betting and casino operator Betflag for €310m.
Italian gambling sector told to prepare for “industry reorganisation”
The Italian government has told the gambling sector to get ready for “industry reorganisation in the coming months”. The National Conservative coalition government under prime minister Giorgia Meloni has assigned treasury deputy Italo Volpe to oversee the initiative and “bring stability to the market”.
Volpe will be joined by Sandra Savino from Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia as a new undersecretary to review the Italian gambling sector. The review will be carried out in the context of the 2023 Tax Reform Bill, which reviews federal VAT and income, business and pension taxes.
