Austrian gaming supplier and operator Novomatic Group has joined with a group of Czech investors to combine their shares in Casinos Austria and its subsidiary Austrian Lotteries in a joint venture that will hold more than 51 percent of the one-third state-owned casino and lottery operator.
Novomatic will join with Sazka Group, which comprises investment firms KKCG and Emma Capital, to acquire the shares in Casinos Austria, a former monopoly operator in the country that runs gaming and sports betting operations in Austria and a number of Eastern European countries. Sazka Group is the largest shareholder of Greek lottery group OPAP.
Novomatic CEO Harald Neumann said the joint venture will resolve ownership disputes that have plagued Casinos Austria and provide the “first essential step towards providing a clear shareholding structure.”
Sazka failed last year in seeking right of first refusal in any shares being sold beyond its 11.3 percent stake, Casinos Austria shareholders voted in October to block that right, allowing Novomatic to raise its own stake.
