Blackstone Tactical Opportunities, a subsidiary of U.S.-based private equity firm the Blackstone Group, will invest €175 million (US$196 million) in the Superbet Group, the largest sports betting and gaming company in Romania, according to a report in Businessreview.eu.
In 2017, the unit bought Clarion Events, organizer of the gaming industry’s biggest exhibition, ICE, and in 2018 bought Spanish gaming operator Grupo Cirsa for €2 billion (US$2.235 billion). It also owns the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas and Ukrainian social casino games developer Murka.
Sacha Dragic, co-founder and CEO of Superbet said the company is “anxious to start this strategic partnership with Blackstone. Capital infusion from the U.S. fund backed by rich experience makes Blackstone a partner capable of supporting Superbet Group to maintain its market leadership in Romania, to continue to increase its market share and, above all, to be able to capitalizing on opportunities to expand business in both Central and Eastern Europe and globally.”
Andrea Valeri, senior managing director at Blackstone, added, “We are delighted to be able to start working with Sacha Dragic and the excellent management team he has created at Superbet. It is impressive that the Romanian company has invested in multi-channel and digital operations, including the launch of its own online gaming and betting platform, all made to the international standards of the industry. We are anxious to support the upward trend of Superbet, whose growth model is based on international expansion and on continued technology investments.”
Superbet is the largest gaming operator in Romania with a network of more than 1,000 retail outlets where some 15 million bets are placed each month. Superbet operates in six countries including Poland, Austria, Serbia, Croatia, Malta and the UK. The company recently applied to the Polish Ministry of Finance for a license to offer online sports betting.
Spanish business publication Economia Digital reported that Blackstone is “accelerating” a planned IPO for Grupo Cirsa.
