Entain to begin exit from CEE venture with €425m stake sale
Entain has launched a phased exit from its Central and Eastern Europe business after agreeing to sell a 20 per cent stake in Entain CEE to joint venture partner EMMA Capital, an investment group, for about €425m.
The FTSE 100 betting and gaming group said the deal values Entain CEE at €2.1bn, or about 10 times EBITDA, and marks the first step towards a full withdrawal from the venture, which owns Poland’s STS and Croatia’s SuperSport.
Under the agreement, Entain will receive €395m on completion, with a further payment due in early 2027 to reflect the business’s financial performance in 2026. Completion is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
The proceeds will be used to cut Entain’s debt, with the company expecting annualised interest savings of about £20m. Entain said the disposal would be broadly neutral to earnings per share and adjusted cashflow.
“Our initial divestment is a decisive first step towards Entain fully exiting Entain CEE and reflects our ongoing focus on maximising value for shareholders,” said Stella David (pictured above), Entain’s chief executive. “This enables us to unlock the value created by our Croatian and Polish businesses’ and demonstrates our robust capital allocation discipline.
“Driven by structural growth across our globally scaled portfolio and our improving operational execution, I am confident in our ability to deliver strong future cash-generation. Entain remains well positioned to be a long-term industry winner.”
EMMA to take greater control
Entain’s holding in Entain CEE will fall from 67.5 per cent to 47.5 per cent once the transaction completes. EMMA’s stake will rise from 22.5 per cent to 42.5 per cent, while the Juroszek family foundations will retain their 10 per cent interest.
A separate voting agreement between EMMA and the Juroszek family foundations will give EMMA voting rights over the Juroszek family’s shares, subject to customary exceptions. As a result, EMMA will have majority control of the joint venture after completion.
The agreement also gives the Juroszek family a put option over its 10 per cent stake, exercisable in three tranches during the three years after completion.
Strong CEE performance, but simpler structure targeted
Entain CEE was formed in 2022 through the group’s acquisitions of SuperSport and STS. The business generated net gaming revenue of GBP522m (€605.5m) in 2025, up 7 per cent year on year, and EBITDA of GBP184m (€213.4m), also up 7 per cent.
The company said STS and SuperSport had maintained number one positions in Poland and Croatia respectively, while STS’s sportsbook had migrated to SuperSport’s platform. Online NGR and EBITDA delivered double-digit compound annual growth between 2023 and 2025 on a pro forma basis.
Despite that performance, Entain said a full exit would support a simpler group structure and release capital from within its portfolio. Future proceeds from a complete disposal would be used to reduce reported leverage below three times, with surplus capital returned to shareholders.
Entain said it remained comfortable with market expectations for 2026 group underlying EBITDA and remained on track to generate about GBP500m (€580m) of annual adjusted cashflow in 2028.
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