Blackstone invests £175m in Romania’s Superbet

Private equity group Blackstone has committed to a £175m (€202.7m/$227.5m) strategic minority investment in Romanian omni-channel sports betting and gaming operator Superbet.

Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed, but Blackstone has confirmed that it will fund the investment with money managed or advised by its Tactical Opportunities division.

Blackstone has praised Superbet for its “rapid growth” in recent years, citing its high quality shops, customer–oriented pricing and service as the main drivers behind this.

The group has also commended Superbet for bringing in technology leadership with strong industry experience to support its development of a state-of-the-art and disruptive online sports betting platform.

In January, Superbet announced former Paddy Power Betfair executive Adam Shaw as the new managing director of its international online operations.

“The company’s continued investment in world-class online and multi-channel operations, including the launch of a market-leading native app and proprietary online sports and gaming engine, is very exciting,” Blackstone’s senior managing director, Andrea Valeri, said.

“We look forward to supporting Superbet’s impressive growth trajectory, through international expansion and continued investment in technology.”

Sacha Dragic, founder and group CEO of Superbet, added: “Blackstone’s equity investment and extensive experience will help us maintain and grow our market-leading position in Romania and pursue expansion opportunities in Central Eastern Europe and globally.”

Stifel advised on the overall transaction, while Herzog, Fox & Neeman acted as legal adviser to Superbet and Jones Day to Blackstone. UBS Investment Bank also provided financial advice to Blackstone.

Last July, Blackstone was linked with a possible bid to acquire leading Spanish gambling operator Codere, having already purchased Spain’s Cirsa earlier in 2018.

Blackstone also owns Clarion Events, the parent company of iGamingBusiness.