“Together with a strong American investor, this opens up additional space for Sazka Group to invest both in Europe and in the USA and possibly in other regions. We will continue to focus on lotteries and the additional game vertical. I am convinced that the gaming industry will be one of the most promising industries in the future, “said Komárek.
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Komárek called Apollo one of the world’s largest alternative investment managers and leading investors in the gaming industry.
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Sazka Entertainment’s equity will amount to 4.2 billion euros (about 111 billion crowns) after the transaction, so Apollo funds will have a share of more than ten percent in the company. “Apollo funds have promised so-called exclusivity, ie that if they invest in the gaming or lottery industry, it will be through the Sazka Group,” KKCG spokeswoman Dana Dvořáková told Práva.
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In addition to the Czech Republic, Sazka Group operates in Austria, Greece, Italy and Cyprus. In the autumn, the company announced that it was applying for a license to operate the British national lottery. Last year, it increased its net profit by a third year-on-year to 311 million euros (8.3 billion crowns). In the first half of this year, the group’s net profit fell by 71 percent year on year to 42 million euros (1.11 billion crowns).
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