Leading Italian sportsbetting operator has turned down a €600 million deal from Bridgepoint and Axa Private Equity.
Wednesday 30th December 2009
Italian retail and online sportsbetting provider Sindacato Nazionale Agenzie Ippiche (SNAI) SpA has rejected a €600 million takeover bid from Bridgepoint and Axa Private Equity.
The publicly listed sports and horseracing betting firm has been struggling with debts of €275 million and reported a net loss in November of €9.5 million for the year to September, although this was down from a deficit of €20.1 million for the same period in 2008.
SNAI’s parent firm, SNAI Servizi Srl, received a binding offer from the two private equity firms for its gaming and betting activities last month that would have seen Bridgepoint acquire three-quarters of the Italian group while Axa would own a quarter.
Italy’s biggest betting shop operator with 900 branded outlets and over 2,500 smaller gambling stalls, SNAI also operates racetracks in Milan but these were not included in the proposed deal.
The pair revealed that their offer valued the Milan-based operator at around six times SNAI’s 2009 pro forma earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation with financing for the deal coming from a consortium of banks.
“The board of SNAI Servizi Srl has examined the offer from Bridgepoint and Axa and has believed the offer not in its own interest,” read a statement from SNAI.
According to a report from The Financial Times newspaper, SNAI could now seek to refinance its debts through a bond issue. It earlier reported revenues of €407.3 million for the year to September, which was up from €389.5 million for the same period in 2008, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for 2009 of €90 million.
