French lottery operator FDJ acquires rights for Irish lottery.
In a surprising move, Française des Jeux (FDJ) has emerged as the new operator of the Irish Lottery, beating out global lottery operator Allwyn. During a financial health report presentation, FDJ revealed that they had signed an agreement to acquire Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI) for a whopping €350 million (US$384.26 million).
This came after the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) announced they would be selling their majority stake in PLI back in March, following their unsuccessful attempt to run the UK's National Lottery.
PLI operates the Irish National Lottery exclusively until 2034 and is majority owned by the Irish Post (An Post), the Irish Post's pension fund (An Post Pension Fund), and OTPP. Like FDJ, PLI offers both draw and scratch-off games, with the majority (85%) of bets being made at points of sale. Digital bets account for 15% of the total, and they are also a member of the Euromillions community.
PLI's Managing Director Andrew Algeo expressed his excitement about partnering with FDJ, saying, "We look forward to partnering with FDJ for an even better performing Irish National Lottery and contributing to FDJ's international expansion in the lottery industry."
For 2022, PLI generated a turnover of €140 million (US$153.7 million) and had an EBITDA margin of 24%, similar to what FDJ typically experiences. This means FDJ expects to add 5% to its annual performance this year.
Last year, PLI redistributed 65% of its €399 million (US$438 million) in gross gaming revenue (GGR) to charities, giving around €260 million (US$285.45 million) to over 4,000 entities.
CEO Stéphane Pallez expressed his excitement about the acquisition in a press release, stating, "This acquisition is perfectly in line with our international development strategy and our core business. FDJ is thus continuing its development while remaining faithful to its recreational, responsible, and redistributive gaming model."
The acquisition won't change the ownership structure of the lottery but will give FDJ the right to operate the Irish Lottery based on the 2014 agreement PLI made with Ireland. The Irish National Lottery regulator needs to approve the purchase before it can be finalized.
FDJ has continued to see success, with GGR increasing by 2.4% to €3.3 billion (US$3.6 billion) and turnover increasing by 6.3% to €1.3 billion (US$1.42 billion) in the first half of this year. Digital stakes increased by 13.3% and now make up 13% of the total. Purchases at points of sale also increased by 3.2%. As a result, FDJ recorded a net profit of €181 million (US$198.72 million), up 13.5%.
Despite bids from International Game Technology and Australia's Lottery Corp, it appears that no challenges have been made to FDJ's acquisition of PLI.
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Source: www.casino.org
