Ladbrokes-owner Entain to buy Polish sports better in £750 million deal
STS boss Mateusz Juroszek and his father Zbigniew Juroszek together own around 70% of the shares in STS and have accepted the offer, Entain said.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.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.
We are delighted to be acquiring the leading sports-betting operator in Poland, which is a hugely exciting and fast-growing market
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.”