Private equity group acquires Spanish gambling group

The Spanish gambling group Cirsa and private equity fund manager Blackstone Group have jointly announced an acquisition agreement that will see Blackstone acquire Cirsa’s casino, bingo and sports betting operations in Spain, Italy and Latin America, but not the business in Argentina, which continues to operate separately, helmed by Cirsa founder Manuel Hernandez.

The consideration agreed has not been disclosed, but there is speculation that Cirsa is worth between Euro 2 and Euro 2.5 billion.

Media reports earlier this year indicated that Blackstone and competitor Apollo Global had emerged as the leaders in bidding for the gambling group as it mulled the possibility of a public offering as an alternative strategy..

According to the joint statement, the Cirsa group includes 147 casinos, 178 salons, 70 bingo halls, over 2,000 sports betting points of sale and over 75,000 gaming machines. The group has also partnered wit Ladbrokes in the Sportium joint venture. The company has been consistently reliable in terms of earnings, which topped Euro 1.7 billion last year.

The statement advises that Cirsa CEO Joaquim Agut will move up to replace departing Hernandez as chairman; his successor as CEO was not detailed in the statement.

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