Penta eyes possible sale of CEE betting group
The private equity fund is reportedly open to offers for the central European betting operator FEG.
Slovakia.- Penta Investments is reportedly considering a sale of Fortuna Entertainment Group (FEG), the largest betting operator in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Reuters says that the private equity fund, which is run by Jaroslav Hascak and Marek Dospiva, has hired JPMorgan to explore options for the business.
Citing “a person with knowledge of the company, speaking on the condition of anonymity,” Reuters says that Penta wants €2bn for the operator, which it bought in 2017. Before buying the group outright, Penta had financed Fortuna’s acquisition of Hattrick Sports Group, a move that gained it possession of Casa Pariurilor in Romania and PSK Sports in Romania.
It’s been suggested that Fortuna could attract a major Western European operator with ambitions to expand in central and eastern Europe. The UK’s Entain in particular has been expanding through its Entain CEE joint venture, however, its strategy has been questioned by some shareholders.
Pentas’ €14.5bn portfolio also includes the Slovakian bank Prima, food processor Caribona and the Czech media group VLM Media.
