Greece completes OPAP privatisation
Debt-ridden country continues asset fire sale through 650m deal with Emma Delta
Greece has completed the privatisation of its gambling monopoly OPAP after selling its 33% stake to Emma Delta.
The equity fund, led by Czech billionaire Jiri Smejc and Greek oil tycoon Dimitris Melissanides, has agreed a deal to pay 650m for the stake in the gambling company which exclusively operates and manages lottery and sports betting games in Greece.
The sale is subject to approval by Greece’s competition commission, and will see a downpayment of 620m in cash with the remaining 30 spread over 10 years.
The deal was agreed in May, with Emma Delta agreeing a total financial consideration of 712m or 18.6 times the estimated net profits of OPAP’s 2013 financial year.
Greece has been under increasing pressure to raise funds to ease the country’s debt levels, and was ordered to raise almost 10bn from asset sales by 2016 as part of an international bailout plan.
Analysts had originally valued the government’s stake at approximately 1bn, but faltering financial results in 2012 and amendments to Greek taxation in September of the same year reduced its share price by almost 20%.
Greece has already privatised its state lottery this year having sealed a deal with an OPAP-led consortium including Intralot and Scientific Games Global Gaming.
The Remote Gambling Association (RGA) has reacted strongly to OPAP’s privatisation, with chief executive Clive Hawkswood stating that placing an injunction on the sale was an option at the RGA’s disposal.
The trade body claims the sale to have been approved without the European Commission clarifying whether the award of exclusive rights to online gambling was compatible with EU law.
The European Court of Justice ruled in January that the Greek government was in breach of EU law, but the Greek government later proposed to extend OPAP’s exclusive rights to online gambling products until 2020.