Lottery firm to become major player in Italian online sportsbetting market with $63.7 million deal.
Tuesday 3rd June 2008
Lottomatica Scommesse has announced the signing of a preliminary agreement with Totosi Holding for the purchase of its Toto Carovigno division for an estimated $63.7 million.
Lottomatica Scommesse is a subsidiary of Italy’s lottery giant Lottomatica while Toto Carovigno owns the Totosi online Italian sportsbetting brand, which has a reported 250,000 registered accounts, 90,000 of which are believed to be active. Toto Carovigno revealed that Totosi had a five percent share of Italy’s total sportsbetting market last year with wagers totalling around $233 million along with a 17 percent share of the complete online market. Toto Carovigno owns three historic concessions, two for sportsbetting alongside one for horseracing with sixteen venues throughout southern Italy.
The purchase also includes four other branches of Totosi Holding with Lottomatica Scommesse stating that it is in the process of completing due diligence with an option to terminate the agreement with a provision for the return of its $6.9 million initial deposit.
The purchase is being financed from funds held in Lottomatica's cash reserves and must also be authorised by the Amministrazione Autonoma Dei Monopoli di Stato (AAMS) and the Italian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry before any transferring any horseracing concessions.
Lottomatica Scommesse has announced the signing of a preliminary agreement with Totosi Holding for the purchase of its Toto Carovigno division for an estimated $63.7 million.