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Estonia – Odyssey Europe ready to pay €288m for Olympic Entertainment Group

By - 19 March 2018

Odyssey Europe, an independent European private equity firm, is looking to buy Baltic-based casino group Olympic Entertainment Group for €288m.

The Tallinn-headquartered land-based and online casino and betting operator, owns 115 gaming venues and 27 betting points including 24 casinos in Estonia, 53 in Latvia, 17 in Lithuania, six in Slovakia, 14 in Italy and one in Malta. It employs some 3,000 employees in six countries and generated revenues of €215.1m in 2017, up 12.4 per cent year-on-year.

The two founders and major shareholders of OEG, Armin Karu and Jaan Korpusov, have signed binding agreements with OE AS whereby they have irrevocably committed to tender their aggregate shares, representing 64 per cent of the total OEG shares outstanding, in the voluntary takeover offer.

Armin Karu, Founder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of OEG, said: “Starting from a small operation in Estonia 25 years ago I am proud to have built OEG into a formidable business with best-in-class operations and strong positions across six EU markets. The Novalpina Capital team has significant experience in investing in companies and helping them expand both geographically and digitally. We are impressed by their vision for the business and I am convinced they are the right shareholder to take OEG forward. As the largest shareholder, I consider the price to be fair and I recommend other shareholders to take up the offer.”

Madis Jääger, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO of OEG, said: “Over the years and driven by the vision of its founders, OEG has successfully expanded beyond its core Baltic markets. In the future, with increasing online competition, the company will need to increase its investment in its digital platform. We believe that Novalpina Capital as a prospective owner of the business is well-placed to support these investments.”

Stefan Kowski, Founding Partner of Novalpina Capital, said: “OEG is a leading company in the entertainment-led casino sector across six Eurozone markets with strong operating and compliance practices. We have been impressed with the business that Armin has built and are excited to provide strategic input and capital to support the company, its management, employees and customers in the next phase of growth.”

The completion of the VTO is subject to customary closing conditions, the details of which will be set out in the prospectus. Following approval of the Prospectus by the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority, which is expected to occur on 3 April 2018, the offer document will be published on 4 April 2018.

OE AS has entered into a Business Combination Agreement with OEG agreeing to delist OEG from Nasdaq Tallinn Stock Exchange following the Offer, subject to a shareholder resolution passed with a simple majority of the votes at an OEG General Meeting. OE AS subsequently intends to merge both companies subject to a shareholder resolution passed by at least two thirds of the votes at an OEG General Meeting.

Novalpina Capital is a European private equity firm that focuses on making control equity investments in middle market companies operating throughout Europe. The firm was established in 2017 by three former senior executives of the European operations of leading global private equity investment firms.

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