OPAP targets international growth with Stoiximan investment

Greece’s OPAP has today (Monday) signed a preliminary agreement to acquire more than a third of Betano owner Stoiximan Group (£44.8m/$58.8m) for $50m as part of a wider plan to strengthen its online offering.

OPAP has bought a 36.75% stake in Stoiximan, which is active in Greece and Cyprus under the Stoiximan brand, as well as in both Germany and Romania through its Betano brand, from TCB Holdings.

The lottery and betting giant, which agreed the deal via its OPAP Investment subsidiary, has also struck a pre-agreement with TCB to make additional investment to acquire joint control with TCB in Stoiximan’s Greek and Cypriot operations.

Both agreements remain subject to regulatory clearance, while the latter will also require clearance from anti-trust authorities and the performance of due diligence.

Should the deals go through, the existing Stoiximan management team would remain in place and continue to operate independently from OPAP’s online business.

OPAP has committed significant time and investment to building up its online activities in recent months and is this week due to launch Pamestoixima.gr, its new online and mobile sportsbook.

The company this month also posted positive results for the first half of 2018, with gross gaming revenue up 7.1% year-on-year to €737.5m and net profit 32.9% to €66.1m.

Damian Cope (pictured), chief executive of OPAP, said: “The strategic investment in Stoiximan that we are announcing today directly compliments OPAP’s own online activities and also gives us online presence at an international level.

“Stoiximan has proven itself to be a successful online operator and we are happy to be working with them.”

George Daskalakis, chief executive of Stoiximan, also spoke positively about the new relationship, saying that the support of OPAP would enable his company to pursue its own growth goals.

Daskalakis added: “This partnership strengthens Stoiximan’s leading position in Greece and additionally allows us to accelerate our growth in international markets, as well as to intensify our strategic focus on technology.

“Our vision is to become established as one of the top gametech companies in Europe while maintaining our Greek character and it is towards this direction that we will continue to work with the same passion and dedication.”