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About 888 Big Bass Bonanza
Cirsa shareholders will receive 0.668 newly issued Lottomatica shares for each of their shares in Cirsa.
Meanwhile Blackstone, Cirsa’s largest shareholder, is expected to become the largest shareholder of the combined company, maintaining around 24% of the share capital.
The deal is expected to provide around €115 million of pre-tax cash synergies per year from opex and interest cost savings. These synergies are expected to be realised by the third full year following completion.
What is 888 Big Bass Bonanza?
Merkur has agreed to pay an effective price of €6.19 per SFC share for the stake, representing a substantial premium over recent market valuations.
The premium reflects both the control premium paid to the sellers and Merkur’s valuation for majority ownership.
As Merkur’s acquisition of Casigrangi would grant indirect control over SFC, French regulations require Merkur to launch a simplified mandatory tender offer for the remaining SFC shares it does not already hold.
About 888 Big Bass Bonanza
Its share price decline began after reaching an all-time high in September 2021. Over the course of five years it has slipped 73% to 530p.
It has been a challenging few years for Entain, having cycled through four CEOs in short succession. In November 2023 Entain agreed to pay a financial penalty totalling £585 million, plus a £20 million charitable donation and £10 million in Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and HMRC costs. This related to a bribery case initiated by the CPS into the company’s historic operations in Turkey.
Troubles continued as it faced declining growth within its digital business. Reports of failed integrations amid a frenzy of acquisitions further dampened Entain’s reputation and the operator subsequently committed to a major turnaround effort to cut costs and return its digital business to growth.
