CIRSA demands that Ladbrokes offload stake in Sportium joint-venture
Spanish business news source Economia Digital has this morning reported that Grupo CIRSA has sued joint-venture partner Ladbrokes (GVC Holdings), in relation to the ownership structure of its ‘Sportium’ subsidiary.
Economia Digital reports that in July 2018, CIRSA governance filed a Madrid Court challenge against Ladbrokes stating that Sportium joint-venture terms and agreements had been completely altered by GVC Holdings £4 billion takeover of Ladbrokes Coral Plc (deal completed March 2018).
CIRSA who in 2018 was acquired by US private equity group Blackstone, have stated that Ladbrokes can no longer fulfil its joint-venture role, as its owner GVC Holdings is considered a ‘Spanish market competitor of CIRSA’.
In its court filing, CIRSA governance details that Sportium cannot maintain a JV partnership with GVC Holdings, a company operating direct competitors Bwin.es and partygaming assets.
Blackstone and CIRSA Chief Executive Joaquim Agut, have demanded that the Madrid Court order Ladbrokes to sell its 50% equity in Sportium at a ‘fair price’.
GVC governance has branded CIRSA dispute as dishonest, underlining that the Spanish Gambling had changed ownership during 2018, forcing Ladbrokes to make partnership adjustments.
A 50-50 joint venture between Ladbrokes and CIRSA, Sportium was launched in 2013, seeing Ladbrokes consolidate its Spanish sports betting brand LBpuestas, as CIRSA moved to relaunch its Spanish market betting proposition under the Sportium domain.
Since 2013, Sportium has expanded to its betting network to +3,000 betting points across Spain, becoming the nation’s biggest retail bookmaker.
Furthermore, acquiring CIRSA in 2018, Blackstone outlined the importance of growing Sportium’s sports betting footprint within Spain and new LATAM markets.
In further related news, this week Blackstone confirmed that it had acquired Spanish market fruit machine and gaming halls operator Giga Games, an asset that the be absorbed by CIRSA’s enlarged Spanish market portfolio.
Source: SBC News
