Cirsa plans to go public in April to place up to 1 billion

Cirsa , the Spanish operator of casinos, slot machines, sports betting ( Sportium ) and online gaming owned by Blackstone , plans to begin trading in mid-April through a placement of between 700 and 1,000 million euros . The operation will combine a public subscription offer ( OPS ) of new shares with a public sale offer ( OPV ) of existing shares, according to several market sources consulted by EXPANSIÓN.

The tentative schedule for the operation, which has been codenamed Project Atalanta , currently provides for the official announcement of the IPO to be made - through a document known as ITF (intention to float) - around March 13, with trading due to begin before Easter , according to sources.

The dates, in any case, are indicative and are still under review , as no firm decision has been made in this regard. The future stock market launch will depend on the situation of the markets at that time, as the company's financial director, Antoni Grau, warned in a conference with analysts last week, in which he also announced that the decision to go public would be made in "weeks."

HBX-like structure

Cirsa was close to announcing its debut on the stock market last November, but decided to postpone it in view of the volatility of the markets following the US elections . If it finally decides to delay the launch even further, it will have a four-month window, from the presentation of its audited annual results, to take the step before having to formulate new audited accounts.

The structure of the operation will be similar to that proposed by the tourist group Hotelbeds (HBX Group) , which had a significant primary tranche (OPS) intended to raise funds to reduce the group's debt, from the current 3.8 times EBITDA. The objective is to refinance the existing debt and adopt leverage levels in line with those of a listed company, lower than those of companies such as Cirsa, which are in the hands of private equity.

Blackstone's intention, in turn, is to be able to place existing shares in its possession among institutional investors, although the IPO tranche would be smaller than the IPO , according to the sources. Between the two offers, the aforementioned 700-1,000 million euros and at least 25% of Cirsa's shareholding will be placed.

Lazard is acting as financial advisor to Blackstone , while Barclays, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley are the global coordinators . BBVA, Jefferies, Mediobanca, Société Générale and UBS are acting as bookrunners . The third tier of banks is reserved for Alantra, BTIG, Redburn Atlantic (Rothschild) and Renta 4 , all acting as co-lead arrangers .

The company's legal advice is provided by Garrigues , with support from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett for international matters. Linklaters is acting as legal advisor to the banking syndicate. The prospectus for the IPO is already well-defined, as Cirsa issues bonds that are listed on the debt markets.

The Terrassa (Barcelona)-based group reported operating revenues of €2.15 billion in 2024, 8% more than a year earlier, while EBITDA was €699 million, an 11% year-on-year increase.