Flutter Entertainment to purchase Italy Gaming Operator Sisal for $2.2 billion

Flutter Entertainment has purchased Sisal, an Italian online gaming company, for €1.9 billion ($2.2 billion). This gives the company a stronger foothold on the Italian market.

The transaction price is payable in cash upon completion. It also includes repayment of all Sisal debt. Flutter will finance this deal via additional debt facilities that were agreed with Barclays Bank.

It is expected that it will be completed in the second quarter 2022. However, approvals for merger control and other approvals are required.

Sisal, a major betting, gaming, and lottery operator based in Milan, has approximately 2,500 employees. For 2021, revenue is expected to be over $800 million. Consolidated earnings before interest tax depreciation, amortization, and amortization (consolidated EBITDA) of $260 million will reach $790 million.

90% of this amount comes from Sisal's Italian operations; the remaining 10% comes from lottery operations in Turkey or Morocco.

Italy is Europe's second-largest regulated gambling market after the UK. It has a total gross gaming revenue of $2.4 billion in 2019. Online's share in total Italian gross gaming revenues has increased from 10% to 20% in the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is expected that the Italian online market will be worth as much as $5 billion in 2024. Sisal's current online market share is 11.9%. When combined with Flutter and other assets, will bring it to around 20%.

Peter Jackson, chief executive of Flutter, stated that the company was seeking to achieve "a gold medal place" in the Italian market.

He asserted, "For some time we have wanted to pursue this market opportunity via an omnichannel strategy and this acquisition will ideally position us to do so. Sisal has grown its online presence significantly in recent years, aided by its proprietary platform and commitment to innovation. I'm excited to see how Flutter can complement these capabilities through our scale, differentiated products and operational capabilities."

Flutter will see its recreational customers increase by 300,000 monthly online average players and more than 9.5 million retail clients.

Francesco Durante, the chairman of Sisal, added, "Through our commitment to digital innovation, international expansion and safer gambling, we have achieved a leadership position in Italy's online gaming market and developed our global footprint by winning lottery tenders in Morocco and Turkey. We are delighted to join Flutter and are convinced that through its scale and operational capabilities, we will be able to further strengthen our leadership in the markets we operate in."

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