Lottomatica CEO Guglielmo Angelozzi has said the proposed merger between the Italian firm and CIRSA is “a completely different situation” to “lots of failed M&A in the industry”.
Speaking on an analyst call on Wednesday, 2 September, following the deal’s announcement, Angelozzi was asked by BoA’s (Bank of America) Adrien de Saint Hilaire why the merger would work compared to others that had “failed to deliver on initial expectations”.
Lottomatica is set to acquire the omnichannel CIRSA in an all-share merger, which bosses said would create the second-biggest public gambling operator in the world.
Angelozzi responded that while there had been “lots of failed international M&A and lots of failed local M&A”, the GoldBet parent’s track record on successful integration gave him confidence.
Lottomatica has snapped up a host of smaller Italian firms in recent years, including a €600m+ deal for SKS365, along with hoovering up retail-focused brands.
Looking at the sector more broadly Angelozzi said: “In many cases, you had M&A which was of assets that […] were not really leadership, they were second tier. The promise was to completely change the nature and the competitive position of the asset, in many cases, a turnaround.
“In this case, it’s a completely different situation. You have a group, not a single company in a single country, a group which has been a solid group for 10 years and delivering.
“There’s no turnaround to be made. It’s already very well managed. It’s number one in its markets. You’re not hoping that you’re a second-tier player or number three or four and you’re going to improve. No, it’s already number one, and it’s been number one for a while.”
As per the investor presentation, CIRSA holds leadership positions in eight of its 11 markets.
The operator, which runs brands such as Sportium, E-play24 and Apuesta Total, is expected to deliver adjusted EBITDA of between €800m and €820m for 2026.
CIRSA derives 50% of its adjusted EBITDA from Spain, 43% from Panama, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Portugal and Morocco and just 7% from Italy.
Comparatively, 100% of Lottomatica’s earnings come from the Italian market.
Morgan Stanley’s Ed Young questioned the role of E-play24, the Italian brand CIRSA acquired in a majority stake in in 2022.
Angelozzi replied: “E-play24 has done a very good job in the last year here and fitting into the new concession framework.
“It has a model which is doing very well in working with the new setup for the omnichannel so-called PVR [authorised deposit locations within retail outlets].
“The E-play24 that you have today […] is a very good asset to complete some of the things we had started to do in that space with other initiatives like Totosì [one of Lottomatica’s omnichannel brands] and so forth.”
The Italian market went through a severe regime change last year, with hundreds of longtail brands exiting the jurisdiction after increases to the licence fee.
On the potential for cannibalisation in Italy, Lottomatica CFO Laurence Van Lancker dismissed such concerns on the call.
He added: “We do not expect revenue attrition. These are complementary brands and the complementary models, and we have a history of managing a multi-brand business in Italy, and we already have several brands that run in our business and are complementary.”
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Guglielmo Angelozzi backs transaction to be a success as he points to CIRSA eight leadership positions, while also highlighting Italian opportunities
The post CIRSA merger “completely different” to “failed M&A” across the sector, says Lottomatica boss first appeared on EGR Intel.