Divjak Topic Bahtijarevic & Krka has advised Entain on its acquisition of the SuperSport Group from Emma Capital. Lovric Novokmet Partneri advised Emma Capital on the sale. Clifford Chance reportedly also advised Entain, with Dentons reportedly advising Emma Capital as well.
The transaction remains contingent on regulatory approval.
Entain is a sports-betting, gaming, and interactive entertainment group. The SuperSport Group is a Croatian gaming and sportsbook operator, with a 54% market share in the country, according to a recent Entain announcement. The company expects to pay EUR 600 million in cash, and a further contingent payment of EUR 90 million to Emma in early 2023, for a 75% stake in SuperSport.
According to DTB, "the acquisition will be made through a partnership with Emma Capital, a leading investment firm based in the Czech Republic. The established new venture (Entain CEE), in which Entain will own 75% of the economic rights, is expected to drive expansion in Central and Eastern Europe." The acquisition is expected to value SuperSport at EUR 920 million, "by far the largest all-time deal to take place in Croatia and the wider region."
"We are excited to create Entain CEE with Emma to underpin our strategy across the CEE region and to be acquiring the leading betting and gaming operator in the highly attractive, fully regulated Croatian market," commented Entain CEO Jette Nygaard-Anderson. "We see Croatia as an exciting, dynamic country which Entain CEE is perfectly positioned to expand from – we are very much looking forward to growing our business responsibly within the country and the region."
DTB’s team included Partners Damir Topic, Emir Bahtijarevic, and Ema Mendjusic Skugor, Attorneys Dina Salapic, Dominik Glavina, Antonia Mihaljevic, Andrej Zmikic, Jasna Belcic, Sanja Novoselic, Olena Manuilenko, and Ana-Maria Sunko Peric, Associate Iva Vukoja, and Trainees Lorena Micik and Jure Marovic.
The Lovric Novokmet Partneri team included Partner Mate Lovric, Senior Associates Katarina Simac and Petar Alilovic, and Associates Manuel Kralj and Marijan Zivkovic.
Editor's Note: After this article was published, Dentons confirmed it had advised Emma Capital on the deal. The firm's team included Prague-based Partner Petr Zakoucky, Senior Associate Sona Taghiyeva, and Associates Petr Mueller, Tomas Pavelka, and Marco Meyer Vidal, Budapest-based Partner Rob Irving, Senior Associate Kamran Pirani, and Associate Sebastian Ishiguro, and lawyers from Dentons' London and Berlin offices.
