Gamma Bidco S.p.A. (the “Company” and, together with the companies controlled by it, the “Gamma Group”), a company controlled by funds managed by Apollo Management IX, L.P. (together with Apollo Global Management, Inc. and its subsidiaries, “Apollo”), announced that Gamenet Group S.p.A. (“Gamenet Group”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, has consummated the acquisition of 100% of the participation held by International Game Technology PLC (“IGT PLC”) through IGT Lottery S.p.A. (formerly, Lottomatica Holding S.r.l.) in Lottomatica Scommesse S.r.l. and Lottomatica Videolot Rete S.p.A. (together the “Target Companies”), leading B2C operators respectively of online/sports betting and gaming machines in the Italian market.

 Concurrent with the closing of the acquisition, Gamenet Group has been renamed Lottomatica.

With approximately Euro 1.6 billion of revenues and Euro 22 billion of wagers managed in 2019 on an aggregated basis, the new Lottomatica becomes the market leader in the Italian regulated gaming market and the market leader in all segments of operations (online, sports betting and gaming machines). 

The new Lottomatica boasts a customer base of approximately 800,000 online unique active users, a franchising network of approximately 3,000 points of sales in sports betting, 1,400 gaming halls, 13,600 tobacconists/bars and a proprietary network of approximately 120 gaming venues.

The new Lottomatica is proud to employ approximately 1,150 direct employees and support an estimated related workforce of more than 16,000 people, considering solely its franchising specialty network.

“This transformational deal makes our combined group one of the leading betting and gaming companies in Europe,” commented Guglielmo Angelozzi, Chief Executive Officer of the new Lottomatica. “We now turn our focus to rapid integration of all our assets and expansion into new geographical markets. We firmly believe that with our capabilities, our proprietary technology, our financial strength and the support from the team at Apollo, we will be able to effectively diversify in new markets and capture significant growth and consolidation opportunities.”

“The completion of this transaction is a key milestone for this investment by our funds.” commented Andrea Moneta, Chairman of the new Lottomatica and senior advisor for Italy at Apollo. “The acquisition of Gamenet Group approximately one year ago and this landmark follow up deal are a testimony to our belief in great Italian businesses like the new Lottomatica and to the attractiveness of the Italian regulatory environment, which is a pre-requisite for foreign investments. Apollo has a strong focus on Italy in several sectors and we trust that this positive trend will continue.”

Apollo Partner Michele Rabà said, “Our funds have backed Gamenet Group with a significant equity injection to perform this transaction, which reshapes the Italian gaming market. We are enthusiastic about the continued growth prospects of the company following this transaction and we will continue to support Gamenet Group, now Lottomatica, in consolidating this sector beyond Italy.”