Operator News
Chile – Enjoy and Sun Dreams confirm merger to take 76 per cent of Chilean casino market
By Phil - 7 October 2021
Latin American casino group Enjoy has confirmed that it has reached an agreement to merge its gaming and hotel business with that of rival casino operator Sun Dreams. The merger will create the largest operator in the country and will also have a significant presence in other jurisdictions across Latin America. A potential merger would see the combined company control over 76 per cent of the casino market share.
The two companies have been bitter rivals for years having fought a number of battles in the courts. In August 2018 Sun Dreams filed two appeals before the Santiago Appeals Court against the Gaming Board through which it sought to challenge and reverse the decision to grant the license to the casinos of Pucón and Puerto Varas to Enjoy.
However Enjoy and Sun Dreams confirmed on Monday that they had reached an agreement to complete the merger between the two companies. For the merger to go ahead consent from third parties will need to be obtained as well as the approvals of the antitrust authorities and casinos in the respective jurisdictions in which both companies operate. The transaction will also be subject to other conditions and regulatory approvals.
The exchange ratio would give Sun Dreams 63.9% of the combined shares of the company while Enjoy would keep the remaining 36.1%. The Financial Market Commission (CMF) has instructed them to formally inform the market of the agreement.
Enjoy operates casinos in the Chilean cities of Antofagasta, Coquimbo, Vina del Mar, Rinconada, Santa Cruz, Pucon and a casino in the Argentinian city of Mendoza, equating to 37.6 per cent of the market. Sun Dreams is currently the largest casino operator in Latin America. In Chile, it operates casinos in Iquique, San Francisco de Mostazal, Temuco, Valdivia, Coyhaique and Punta Arenas; plus eight casinos in the city of Lima, Peru; two operations in Cartagena de Indias in Colombia; two operations in Panama City, Panama and one casino in Mendoza, Argentina. It has a 38.8 per cent share of the Chilean market.
