Ladbrokes-owner Entain to buy Polish sports better in £750 million deal

Gambling giant Entain has tabled an offer for Poland’s STS Holding, a sports-betting company.

The Ladbrokes and Coral owner said it plans to bid about £750 million for the business and has buy-in from the two biggest shareholders.

STS chief executive Mateusz Juroszek and his father Zbigniew Juroszek together own around 70% of the shares in STS and have accepted the offer, Entain said on Tuesday.

They will invest part of their spoils from the sale of STS into Entain CEE – the company’s division in Central and Eastern Europe – and become 10% shareholders in the unit.

STS is the “market leader in Poland”, Entain said as it announced the deal.

It had 783,000 active users at the end of the year after growing by about 19%.

The company also has around 400 physical betting shops in Poland, the largest network in the country.

Entain said there is room for growth and STS will be in a strong position to capitalise should Poland fully liberalise online casinos.

Entain chief executive Jette Nygaard-Anderson said: “We are delighted to be acquiring the leading sports-betting operator in Poland, which is a hugely exciting and fast-growing market.

“STS is an exceptional business with a great brand, a compelling omnichannel offering and an outstanding CEO and management team.

“The transaction is perfectly aligned with our Entain CEE strategy and our wider mergers and acquisitions strategy of acquiring high quality businesses with leading positions in attractive, growing and regulated markets.

“Expansion across Central and Eastern Europe remains a core component of our growth plans and STS will be an integral part of our platform in that region.”