Grupo Cirsa, Spain’s biggest gaming operator, must divest of two of its Barcelona bingo halls if it proceeds with a plan to acquire slot company and arcade hall operator Giga Games System Operation.
Cirsa must meet other requirements set down by the country’s Competition & Markets Commission including one that requires the gaming group to “terminate exclusivity clauses” attached to recreational machine contracts servicing Catalonian hospitality businesses; Cirsa must also limit its gaming machine contracts to five-year terms, a mandatory requirement under European Union competition laws; and close down or sell the bingo halls.
Cirsa is owned by U.S. private equity firm Blackstone, which acquired it in May 2018 and this May sanctioned the acquisition of Giga Games from Conei Corp., a gaming and leisure investment fund owned by Juan Lao Hernandez. Hernandez is the brother of Cirsa founder and former President Manuel Lao Hernandez.
If the deal goes through, Cirsa would control 30 percent of market share for Spanish machine gaming services concentrated in the province of Catalonia, according to SBC News. Cirsa has requested a year to 24 months to meet the requirements.
Giga Games runs an extensive system of recreational machines located in bars and restaurants, mainly in Catalonia and the Valencia Community, reported CDC Gaming Reports. The company also has dozens of gambling halls and several bingo halls of its own. In total, the businesses to be acquired by Cirsa reached a turnover of €124 million (US$139 million) in 2018. That figure is more than half of €216 million turnover posted in 2017 by its parent, Conei Corp.
