Entain ends raising funds to acquire STS

Entain has completed the issue of 48 294 478 new ordinary shares without pre-emptive rights, the income from which will be partly used to finance the acquisition of the Polish bookmaking operator – STS Holding.

Collection of funds

Between the issue of shares and the retail offer for investors, Entain raised nearly £600 million. The remaining net income – about £150 million – will be devoted to fund “further short-term acquisitions”.

Let’s us remind that Entain CEE announced on 13 June this year that it would acquire STS Holding for GBP 750 million. As part of the acquisition, Entain CEE will pay PLN 24.80 per share of STS Holdings.

Entain CEE is a joint venture of Entain and Emma Capital. The company was founded in August 2022, after the acquisition of SuperSport by Entain, a transaction that began the Group’s great expansion into this part of Europe.

STS has accepted the offer

STS Chairman, Mateusz Juroszek, and his father, Zbigniew Juroszek, who collectively hold about 70% of STS’ share capital through their family foundations, have entered into a binding agreement to irrevocably accept the offer.

Upon completion of the transaction, the Juroszek Foundations will reinvest a part of their income in Entain CEE in exchange for a 10% economic share in Entain CEE.

The net cash consideration for the acquisition payable by Entain will be approximately £450 million.

Mateusz Juroszek will remain as CEO of STS

Mateusz Juroszek will remain as CEO of STS and will also join the board of Entain CEE.

To remind, Juroszek has been CEO of STS since 2012 and has played a key role in driving the company’s growth over the past decade. It comes as no surprise that Entain has decided to leave him in a key position.

– I am very excited to join the Entain CEE board and see significant growth opportunities in the Polish market for Entain-owned STS. Entain is a world-class operator and has already made significant investments in the region through the intermediary of SuperSport in Croatia. We could not have found a better partner to help us take STS into its next phase of growth and it is clear that Entain agrees with our ambitions and vision for the future. I look forward to continuing to lead and develop STS and working with the Entain CEE team – Mateusz Juroszek said.

Jette Nygaard-Anderson, CEO of Entain concluded: – We are excited about the acquisition of a leading sports betting operator in Poland, which is an extremely exciting and fast-growing market.

– STS is a unique company with a great brand, an attractive multi-channel offering and an outstanding CEO as well as management team. The transaction is perfectly in line with our strategy for Entain CEE and our broader mergers and acquisitions strategy of acquiring high quality companies with leading positions in attractive, growing, and regulated markets – Jette Nygaard-Anderson concluded.