Flutter Entertainment is nearing a £2bn ($2.64bn) deal to acquire the consumer operations of Playtech (its Italian brand Snaitech).
The acquisition, expected to be finalised this week, will focus on Playtech's Italian subsidiary, Snaitech, one of Italy’s largest operators.
This news follows intial confirmations that Playtech was in talks over the sale of Snaitech to Flutter back in August.
The deal, if completed, would mark another major step in Flutter's ongoing corporate expansion under CEO Peter Jackson.
Playtech's shares are up roughly 14% following the company's announcement of a settlement with Caliente, a Mexican company, resolving a long-standing dispute over payments, while last week Flutter purchased a stake in NSX Group in Brazil for a cash consideration of approximately $350m.
The sale of Snaitech would transform Playtech into a purely business-to-business software provider.
Led by Mor Weiser, this potential deal follows a series of corporate developments for Playtech, including a rejected takeover bid from Aristocrat Entertainment in 2022 and reported discussions with 888 (now Evoke) in 2023.
The acquisition of Snaitech would complement Flutter's previous purchase of Sisal, another major Italian gambling group, back in August 2022.
Commenting on this acquisition, a spokesperson for Flutter stated: “The acquisition of Italy’s leading online gaming operator, in an attractive and fast-growing online market, is aligned to the group’s strategy of investing to build leadership positions in regulated markets.
“Sisal has performed strongly since the transaction was announced with year-on-year growth of 58% in revenue to £402m and 51% in EBITDA to £120m during H1 2022.”
Flutter’s CEO Peter Jackson was also quoted as saying that Flutter was looking to “attain a gold medal position in the Italian market” – a mission that would be bolstered by the proposed Snaitech acquisition.
