Superbet Announces €175m Strategic Minority Equity Investment from Blackstone
BUCHAREST, Romania & LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Superbet (the
“Company”), the largest omni-channel sports betting and gaming operator
in Romania, and Blackstone (NYSE: BX) announce a €175m strategic
minority equity investment in Superbet by funds managed or advised by
Blackstone’s Tactical Opportunities business. Terms of the transaction
were not disclosed.
Sacha Dragic, founder and Group CEO of Superbet, said, “We look forward
to our strategic partnership with the Blackstone team. Blackstone’s
equity investment and extensive experience will help us maintain and
grow our market-leading position in Romania and pursue expansion
opportunities in Central Eastern Europe and globally.”
Andrea Valeri, senior managing director of Blackstone, said, “We look
forward to working with Sacha Dragic and the excellent management team
he has assembled. The Company’s continued investment in world-class,
online and multi-channel operations, including the launch of a
market-leading native app and proprietary online sports and gaming
engine, is very exciting. We look forward to supporting Superbet’s
impressive growth trajectory, through international expansion and
continued investment in technology.”
Superbet’s high-quality shops and customer-oriented pricing and service
have underpinned its rapid growth. The Company has brought on seasoned
technology leadership with strong industry experience to facilitate the
development of a state-of-the-art and disruptive online sports betting
platform. This provides a differentiated user experience and more
flexibility and scalability than current competitive offerings.
Stifel advised on the overall transaction. Herzog, Fox & Neeman acted as
legal adviser to Superbet; Jones Day acted as legal adviser to
Blackstone. UBS Investment Bank provided financial advice to Blackstone.
About Superbet
Founded in 2008 by CEO Sacha Dragic,
Superbet’s retail network spans across over 1,200 shops in Romania and
Poland and offers customers pre-match and live sports betting, slots,
virtual betting and lottery offerings. Superbet launched online
operations in Romania in February 2016, releasing a mobile native app in
September 2018. The Company launched retail operations in Poland in
November 2017, with the launch of online sports betting scheduled for
late 2019. Superbet’s technology platform and proprietary betting engine
further positions the Company to expand throughout Central Eastern
Europe and in the broader, global online sports betting vertical.
About Blackstone
Blackstone is one of the world’s leading
investment firms. The Blackstone team seeks to create positive economic
impact and long-term value for investors, the companies Blackstone
invests in, and the communities in which Blackstone works. Blackstone
does this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help
companies solve problems. Its asset management businesses, with $512
billion in assets under management, include investment vehicles focused
on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, non-investment
grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis.
Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone. Further information is
available at www.blackstone.com.
Contacts
Superbet
Mimi Noel
+40 730 380 608
mimi.noel@amicom.ro
Blackstone
Ramesh Chhabra
+44 (20) 7451-4053
Ramesh.Chhabra@Blackstone.com