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Spanish casino operator Silsa rose on his stock market debut in Barcelona after the Blackstone-owned company moved forward with its first public offering in the face of rising stock market turbulence.
CIRSA stocks rose 6.7% in the open to 16 euros, boosting the stock market value to 2.7 billion euros, compared to the IPO’s valuation of 2.5 billion euros. The stock then realised to trade some of these profits for 15.2 euros.
This year it was Spain’s second largest IPO (which was overregistered multiple times), and one investor said the book was covered “very quickly”.
CIRSA, which operates around 450 casinos in 11 countries, raised 400 million euros with fresh capital by issuing 26 million shares, resulting in around 18% free floats. Total products at IPOs could increase to 521 million euros when the overall options are fully exercised.
The successful CIRSA listing marks a rare bright spot in the European IPO market after some planned floating delays in recent weeks.
Plans to float by another blackstone company, Hotel Investment Partners, have recently been delayed, according to people familiar with the issue. After a US private equity company was nervous about the market situation. Blackstone declined to comment.
The IPO market has been difficult since the boom during the pandemic, as more severe macroeconomic conditions and geopolitical turmoil have taken hold.
The conflict in the Middle East and the threat of US tariffs have led to new market turbulence in recent months. According to Dealogic, 46 companies have floated on European exchanges in the first half of this year compared to 61 last year.
Cirsa opened its first casino in Spain in 1985 and was acquired by Blackstone in 2018 for a corporate value of around 2.1 billion euros.
Since 2015, the company has continued its acquisitions that spent around 1.2 billion euros on 130 transactions over the past decade. Recent purchases include the acquisition of a majority stake in Peruvian sports betting operators Apuesta Total and Casino Portugal.
Last year, CIRSA net revenue rose 8% to 2.2 billion euros, while earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization increased 11% to 699 million euros compared to the previous year.
The company’s executive chairman, Joaquim Agut, said that becoming a public company could grow faster and reduce its net debt of 2.37 billion euros.
Blackstone’s original investment in Cirsa was funded with a debt of approximately 1.5 billion euros. Two years later, Cirsa borrowed about 400 million euros to fund dividends to the new owners.
CIRSA is sitting at the Blackstone Fund following major exposure to businesses that have been heavily affected by the pandemic-era lockdown. The vehicle has now held some of these companies longer than expected, including CIRSA.
CIRSA’s valuation at IPO prices leads to a stock value of more than 2.5 times the stock that Blackstone invested in, according to those familiar with the issue.
Cirsa said in the prospectus that she has set her sights on another 100 potential takeover targets, mainly in Latin America and Spain. It plans to spend between 400 million and 500 million euros on trading over the next three years.
“These guys are just buying the right companies… The top isn’t incredible, but they can continue to grow in that model.
CIRSA shares have arrived at the market at a time of buoyancy for other European gambling companies.
Shares of Lottomatica, a rapidly growing Italian gambling operator, emerged by private equity group Apollo in 2023, have risen more than 80% this year.
Meanwhile, shares in the UK Operator Rank Group, which owns Grosvenor Casino, have grown more than 65% over the same period, with more gaming machines per venue ahead of the introduction of regulations.
Additional reporting by Ivan Levingston and Madrid’s Barney Jopson
