Hellenic Competition Commission Approves OPAP’s Acquisition of Stoiximan Stakes

OPAP’s pending acquisition of a majority stake in Stoiximan Group’s businesses in Greece and Cyprus is officially confirmed by the Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC). The Commission’s greenlight followed Sazka Group’s increase in stakes in OPAP to almost 40% last.

The deal is currently in “waiting for the approval” phase. The step is the confirmation from the Cyprus Commission for the Protection of Competition and certain gaming regulatory authorities.

A Push from Sazka

Hellenic Competition Commission confirmed the clearance for the acquisition…

…after lottery group Sazka Group boosted its stake in OPAP to approximately 40%. This came after the completion of an offer period during which Sazka attempted to acquire all the operator’s outstanding shares.

The lottery company agreed with around 7.25% of OPAP shareholders during the offer period. The mentioned period concluded on 29 October.

Sazka owned around 33% of OPAP prior to the offer period having purchased a major stake in 2013 through venture Emma Delta when the first privatization of the operator occurred.

In total…

The lottery company agreed to acquire 23,323,179 shares at €9.12 – leveling up to €212.7m. The amount meant for the total outstanding shares is €2.06bn.

Worthy Deal

In January this year, Greek gaming operator OPAP Group sealed the deal to acquire a 51% stake in the operations. The total consideration of the deal was €94.9m (£82.0m/$105.6m).

As far as stated in the contract…

…operator’s OPAP Invest arm would acquire the stake from GML Interactive and gain t control of the business along with the two of TCB’s existing shareholders.

GML Interactive is a subsidiary of Stoiximan parent company TCB Holdings.

OPAP also purchased a 36.75% stake in Stoiximan in September 2018 for a total consideration of €50m.

Turbulences with Betting License

Near the end of September, The Council of State, the supreme istrative court in Greece, canceled OPAP’s license.

As a consequence of the revoked certificate…

… the operator will no longer be allowed to offer online sports wagering services to the consumers. Although the decision was initially made in July, it went public after Goalbet’s appeal.

The court upheld the Austrian operator’s appeal of the Hellenic Gaming Commission’s (EEEP) decision that gave OPAP permission to open Pame Stoixima, the company’s online sports betting establishment.

The Austrian operator is one of the 24 brands which were given a temporary license…

… that was later canceled. As far as the company pointed out, OPAP’s certificate needs to be revoked because the company’s license is non-valid. The company has never been asked to meet the requirements necessary to run a business in Greece.

The company will protect its interests “by all legal means,” though there are no major concerns about the revenue. The figures should not be affected significantly, as the major part of overall sports betting revenue originates from its retail operation.

Source:

“OPAP secures Greek approval for Stoiximan acquisition”, igamingbusiness.com, November 5, 2019.