Catalan company Cirsa has been absorbed by Italian group Lottomatica in a transatlantic deal aimed at turning the combined company into one of the world's gaming and sports betting giants. That's according to the Terrassa-based firm, which noted that the merger will allow both companies to reach a much larger market while retaining the leadership positions they each hold in Spain and Italy. The resulting company, which will operate under the Lottomatica name, will have an addressable market of €34 billion. Cirsa shareholders will receive 0.668 newly issued Lottomatica shares for every Cirsa share they hold, and will end up controlling 32.5% of the new company.
Cirsa—whose majority shareholder is Blackstone—is already a major player in the gaming and betting sector. According to the latest figures, the Catalan company operates in 10 countries with roughly 450 casinos, more than 85,000 gaming machines, and about 2,300 sports betting points, in addition to holding online gaming licenses in several countries. Lottomatica, for its part, handled €45 billion in bets and posted €2.3 billion in consolidated revenue in 2025. The company operates in the online segment, where it has 2.2 million customers, as well as in sports and gaming franchises. By late 2025, it had 17,400 points of sale.
If the deal is approved at both companies' shareholder meetings and cleared by regulators, the merged company will become the second-largest listed operator in the sector, with a pro forma adjusted EBITDA of around €2 billion. Both companies also expect annual pre-tax profits of approximately €115 million, driven mainly by savings in operating and financing costs stemming from the merger.
A newly defined governing body
In terms of shareholding structure, Lottomatica will hold the largest stake among all shareholders in the new company, with 67.5% control. Cirsa, meanwhile, will hold a 32.5% stake. Given that Blackstone controls the majority of Cirsa's shares, it is expected to become the group's largest shareholder overall, with approximately 24% of the capital. Both companies have announced that the new entity will keep its registered office and tax domicile in Rome, Lottomatica's home base. Cirsa, however, will host the company's second headquarters, located in Barcelona province. Shares will continue trading on Euronext Milan, but once the deal closes, they will also be admitted to trading on the Spanish stock exchanges.
The new company's board of directors will be reconstituted to reflect all parties involved in the merger. The governing body will consist of 13 members. The first 11 directors will be Lottomatica's current board members, and the remaining two will be appointed at Blackstone's proposal as Cirsa's principal shareholder. Guglielmo Angelozzi will remain chairman and CEO of the combined company, while Antonio Hostench will stay on as CEO of Cirsa, based at the new Barcelona-area headquarters.
Although both parties have agreed to the deal, it still has several hurdles to clear. First, it needs approval at extraordinary general shareholder meetings of both Lottomatica and Cirsa, which the companies say will be held before the end of 2026. The merger will also require clearance on foreign investment, competition, foreign subsidy, and gaming grounds. The companies expect the deal to close in the second quarter of 2027.