Snaitech switches to Flutter: 2.3 billion deal

Flutter Entertainment makes an encore in the Italian betting market and, after taking over Sisal two years ago, reaches an agreement to buy Snaitech from the British group Playtech for for a cash consideration based on an enterprise value of EUR 2.3 billion. The transaction will be completed by the second quarter of 2025 and will have an immediate positive impact on earnings per share," a note reads.

 Snai is the third largest online operator in the Italian market, with a market share of 9.9% in 2023 and 291,000 average players per month. In the 2023 financial year Snai generated revenues of EUR 947 million (net of gaming taxes) and an adjusted ebitda of EUR 256 million, of which 50% was generated online.

With this acquisition, Flutter will become the leading player in Italy, with an online market share of approximately 30%. The group expects the transaction to generate operating cost synergies of at least EUR 70 million, in addition to incremental revenue synergies.

Italy is the largest gaming market in Europe, with an estimated Gross Gaming Revenue of €21 billion in 2023 but with low online penetration of 21% of the market's GGR in 2023, compared to more mature markets such as the UK and Australia, where rates exceed 60%. "Increased digital adoption is expected to drive online market growth at a compound rate of around 10 per cent over the next three years," the release reports.