London-based investment fund Novalpina Capital, active in healthcare, B2B, software and gambling, announced that it bought MaxBet Romania, an online and offline gambling and betting company known for its extensive chain of street slot machine shops.

The price paid to the owner, MaxBet Entertainment Group Plc, was around EUR 250 mln, according to Ziarul Financiar daily.

The figure is consistent with the company’s fundamentals, underpinned by a robust net profit margin (25% in 2018).

MaxBet Romania claims to be the market leader in the slot machine industry, with 1,400 employees and 117 locations in 15 cities.

In 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic, the group had a turnover of EUR 133 mln while its business remained around EUR 100 mln in 2020 amid the negative impact of the lockdown.

This is the second big deal in Romania’s gambling industry after US hedge fund Blackstone became a minority shareholder in Superbet for EUR 175 mln.

MaxBet Entertainment Group Plc. is the leading gaming operator in Central and Eastern Europe. With 89 gaming halls in Romania, Belarus, Croatia, Italy, and dozens more across the region, MaxBet operates over 4,000 slot machines places across 25 cities, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Novalpina Capital is an independent European private equity firm that invests in middle-market companies. Novalpina announced the final closing of its first fund, Novalpina Capital Partners I SCSp, with total commitments in excess of its target of EUR 1 bln, in March 2019.

(Photo: Lenutaidi | Dreamstime.com)

iulian@romania-insider.com