Entain CEE recently announced a tender offer for STS shares, with a proposed payment of PLN24.80 per share, resulting in an equity value of £750m and an enterprise value of approximately £690m. The majority of STS shareholders, including CEO Mateusz Juroszek and his father Zbigniew, have already agreed to accept the offer, accounting for around 70% of the share capital. Additionally, shareholders holding 155,591,656 STS shares, representing 99.3% of the total issued share capital, have also agreed to the deal. The settlement of these shares is expected on 24 August. Entain will acquire the remaining shares through compulsory acquisition proceedings and STS will soon be de-listed from the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
Entain CEE, which was established just over a year ago, has made its second acquisition with this deal. Its first acquisition was SuperSport, the leading market player in Croatia, which was acquired for €690m in November last year. Entain CEE was created in partnership with Emma Capital specifically focusing on acquisitions in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Entain has a 75% stake in Entain CEE, while Emma Capital holds the remaining 25% stake. In order to acquire STS, Entain raised £600m through an equity placement and also offered shares to shareholders via the PrimaryBid platform. The remaining £150m will be utilized for future acquisition efforts. The STS deal is expected to be concluded this week, making Entain CEE the owner of Poland’s leading sportsbook operator. The acquisition comes after STS reported a 26% increase in revenue from its Polish operations, reaching PLN170m. CEO Juroszek expressed optimism about the potential growth in the Polish market, stating that STS is well-positioned to capitalize on the opportunities in the domestic iGaming industry and expects high player activity in the upcoming quarter.
