Entain has agreed to sell a 20% stake in its Central and Eastern European joint venture to existing partner EMMA Capital for approximately €425m.
The FTSE 100 gambling group will receive €395m upon completion of the deal, with an additional payment linked to business performance arriving in early 2027.
The transaction values Entain CEE at around €2.1bn, equivalent to roughly 10 times EBITDA, representing a significant sum for a business largely built around Croatian and Polish operations.
Completion is expected during Q4 2026, subject to the necessary regulatory approvals being secured across relevant jurisdictions.
The disposal forms part of Entain’s broader capital allocation strategy, with the company confirming its intention to fully exit the CEE venture at some point down the line.
In a statement to investors, Entain said it would continue to evaluate “all strategic options” for the sale of its remaining holding in the joint venture.
Proceeds from this initial transaction will be directed toward reducing group debt, with Entain adding that any future exit proceeds would help bring reported leverage below three times EBITDA before returning excess capital to shareholders.
Entain CEO Stella David described the move in confident terms, saying: “Our initial divestment is a decisive first step towards Entain fully exiting Entain CEE and reflects our ongoing focus on maximising value for shareholders.”
David added: “This enables us to unlock the value created by our Croatian and Polish businesses and demonstrates our robust capital allocation discipline.”
She continued: “Driven by structural growth across our globally scaled portfolio and our improving operational execution, I am confident in our ability to deliver strong future cash-generation. Entain remains well positioned to be a long-term industry winner.”
Having previously held a controlling stake of 67.5% in the CEE business, Entain will now drop to a minority shareholding of 47.5% following completion of the deal.
EMMA Capital’s own shareholding will increase from 22.5% to 42.5%, while the remaining 10% of the company continues to be held by the Juroszek family.
The Juroszek family has entered into an agreement granting EMMA Capital full voting rights attached to those remaining shares, effectively handing the partner majority operational control.
In return, the family will receive a put option on that 10% holding, exercisable in three tranches over three years following deal completion.
The divestment also sheds light on the relative performance of Entain CEE within the wider group, with the company reducing its FY 2026 EBITDA margin guidance from 23-24% down to 21-22%.
That reduction strongly suggests Entain CEE had been outperforming the rest of the business on that key profitability metric, making it an attractive asset for EMMA Capital to absorb.
Despite the guidance revision, Entain remains confident it is on track to generate around £500m of annual adjusted cashflow by 2028.
