Blackstone Group, the American private equity firm, has wholly acquired the Spanish gambling operator Cirsa Gaming Corporation for an undisclosed sum. The purchase includes Cirsa’s operations in Spain, Italy and Latin America, excluding its Argentinean business which will remain as a separate interest under Cirsa founder Manuel Lao Hernandez.
Cirsa, founded in 1978, operates more than 75,000 gaming machines and 3,000 lottery terminals in 147 land-based casinos, 178 gaming halls, 70 bingo venues and circa 2,000 sports betting shops. Last year the firm generated revenue of €1.716bn.
Blackstone emerged as the winning bidder out of a group of potential buyers that included Apollo Global Management and Cerberus Capital Management among others back in February this year. Cirsa had also considered the option of an initial public offering in the event that a sale could not be achieved.
Under the ownership of Blackstone, Cirsa’s new chairman will be its former CEO Joaquim Agut.
