Entain has left the door open to additional portfolio restructuring after completing the first stage of its planned exit from Central and Eastern Europe.
CFO Michael Snape indicated the group is not committed to maintaining its current business structure, raising expectations of further strategic moves ahead.
In June, Entain agreed to sell a 20% stake in its CEE joint venture to existing partner EMMA Capital as part of its wider capital allocation strategy.
The company confirmed at the time that it intends to fully exit Entain CEE eventually, with the initial disposal representing the first step in that process.
Speaking during the company’s post-H1 earnings call on 13 August, Snape said the group remains open to further changes without specifying which parts of the portfolio could be affected.
“We’re very firmly focused on shareholder value and unlocking value from the portfolio,” Snape said, adding that Entain is “not beholden to the shape and size of it as it is.”
CEO Stella David moved to reassure investors, describing the group’s holdings as “really good value businesses” while stressing there is “no fire sale taking place here.”
Entain received approximately €425m from the initial CEE sale, comprising around €395m payable on completion and a further performance-linked payment due in early 2027.
Snape confirmed the full proceeds from the initial disposal will go towards reducing Entain’s debt, with the group targeting reported leverage of below 3x.
He added that when the remainder of the CEE business is sold, a portion of those proceeds would also likely be directed toward debt reduction, with any residual funds potentially returned to shareholders.
“When we sell the rest of CEE, we will probably put some of that to debt as well, and then the residual we would look to return to shareholders,” Snape said.
Management noted that reducing debt and improving cash generation would give Entain greater financial flexibility going forward.
The strategic commentary came alongside a broadly positive set of first-half results, with reported group NGR reaching £2.55bn in the six months to the end of June, up 7% year-on-year.
Underlying EBITDA edged down 2% to £479.3m, though the group’s net loss narrowed significantly from £85.8m to £11.4m over the same period.
