{"id":11228,"date":"2026-09-03T22:02:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T22:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/casino-online-best.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/03\/lottomatica-absorbs-cirsa-in-all-share-gaming-merger\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T22:02:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T22:02:16","slug":"lottomatica-absorbs-cirsa-in-all-share-gaming-merger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/casino-online-best.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/03\/lottomatica-absorbs-cirsa-in-all-share-gaming-merger\/","title":{"rendered":"Lottomatica Absorbs CIRSA In All Share Gaming Merger"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Lottomatica Group has agreed an all share merger with CIRSA that will combine two of the largest gambling groups in Italy and Spain. The transaction is expected to complete in Q2 2027 and will leave Blackstone with about 24% of the enlarged company.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><strong>Good to Know<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lottomatica shareholders will own about 67.5% of the combined group, with CIRSA shareholders holding 32.5%.<\/li>\n<li>Blackstone will remain the largest single shareholder with roughly 24%.<\/li>\n<li>The companies expect about \u20ac115 million in annual pre tax cash synergies within three years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong>Lottomatica Uses CIRSA Deal To Add Spain And Casino Scale<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The merger changes Lottomatica from an Italy heavy operator into a broader European and international gambling group.<\/p>\n<p>Italy will still account for about 57% of pro forma adjusted EBITDA, while Spain will contribute 23% and other markets 20%. The combined addressable gambling market is estimated at about \u20ac34 billion.<\/p>\n<p>CIRSA also adds a very different earnings mix. Casinos account for 53% of CIRSA adjusted EBITDA, while distributed gaming contributes 34% and online and sports 13%. Lottomatica generates 79% of adjusted EBITDA from online and sports.<\/p>\n<p>That gives Lottomatica a clear route to apply its digital platform and online operating model across CIRSA markets, particularly Spain. Reuters also noted that investors and analysts see CIRSA online development as one of the central opportunities behind the transaction.<\/p>\n<p>Guglielmo Angelozzi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lottomatica, said:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cWith the combination of Lottomatica and CIRSA, two extremely successful companies, we create the undisputed leader in Italy and Spain, among the best gaming markets globally, complemented by leadership positions in other very high growth geographies.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Blackstone Keeps 24 Percent Stake<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>CIRSA shareholders will receive 0.668 new Lottomatica shares for every CIRSA share.<\/p>\n<p>Existing Lottomatica investors will own about 67.5% after completion, while CIRSA investors will hold around 32.5%. Blackstone, which controls CIRSA through LHMC Midco S.\u00e0 r.l., will keep roughly 24% and nominate two directors to the enlarged board.<\/p>\n<p>CIRSA will also pay shareholders an extraordinary \u20ac262 million dividend before completion, equal to \u20ac1.56 per share.<\/p>\n<p>After closing, Lottomatica plans another \u20ac744 million capital return through an extraordinary dividend, voluntary tender offer or both. Management also plans returns of up to \u20ac4 billion over three years, subject to shareholder approval.<\/p>\n<p>The deal therefore differs from a conventional Blackstone exit. Blackstone will remain heavily invested in the combined operator rather than cashing out completely.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>\u20ac115 Million In Annual Savings Targeted<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Lottomatica and CIRSA expect about \u20ac115 million in annual pre tax cash benefits by the third full year after completion.<\/p>\n<p>Around \u20ac101 million should come from operating cost savings across technology, procurement, shared services, trading, risk management and administration. Another \u20ac14 million relates to lower financing costs.<\/p>\n<p>The companies expect around \u20ac120 million of implementation expenses over three years.<\/p>\n<p>Pro forma net leverage should stand at about 2.7 times adjusted EBITDA around completion before falling toward a long term target of 2.0 to 2.5 times.<\/p>\n<p>Based on last twelve month H1 2026 figures, Lottomatica and CIRSA reported standalone adjusted EBITDA of \u20ac914 million and \u20ac796 million respectively. Including \u20ac101 million of projected operating savings brings pro forma adjusted EBITDA to \u20ac1.812 billion.<\/p>\n<p>On that comparison, the enlarged business would rank second among listed gaming and sports betting companies behind Flutter at \u20ac2.1 billion and ahead of Allwyn at \u20ac1.518 billion and Entain at \u20ac1.314 billion.<\/p>\n<p>The ranking also holds before projected synergies, with standalone EBITDA adding up to roughly \u20ac1.71 billion.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Completion Target Set For Q2 2027<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The transaction still needs shareholder and regulatory approval, including gambling, antitrust, foreign investment and EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation clearances.<\/p>\n<p>CIRSA shareholders who oppose the merger can use a statutory exit right at \u20ac13.20 per share, subject to the published conditions. Exit requests must remain below 5% of CIRSA paid up capital for completion to proceed.<\/p>\n<p>Both companies expect shareholder meetings during Q4 2026, final regulatory clearances during Q1 2027 and completion in Q2 2027.<\/p>\n<p>The combined group will retain the Lottomatica name and Rome headquarters, alongside a secondary CIRSA headquarters in Barcelona province. Lottomatica shares will continue trading in Milan and are due to gain admission to the Spanish Stock Exchanges after completion.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/igaming.org\/casino-news\/lottomatica-absorbs-cirsa-in-all-share-gaming-merger\/\">Lottomatica Absorbs CIRSA In All Share Gaming Merger<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/igaming.org\/\">iGaming.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lottomatica Group has agreed an all share merger with CIRSA that will combine two of the largest gambling groups in Italy and Spain. The transaction is expected to complete in Q2 2027 and will leave Blackstone with about 24% of the enlarged company. Good to Know Lottomatica shareholders will own about 67.5% of the combined [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"blocksy_meta":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/casino-online-best.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/casino-online-best.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/casino-online-best.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casino-online-best.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casino-online-best.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/casino-online-best.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11228\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/casino-online-best.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casino-online-best.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casino-online-best.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}