On November 25, 2022, Divjak Topic Bahtijarevic & Krka announced that Entain’s acquisition of the SuperSport Group from Emma Capital (reported by CEE Legal Matters on August 18, 2022) had closed.
According to DTB, after "obtaining all regulatory approvals, Entain Plc., a global sports-betting, gaming, and interactive entertainment group, completed the takeover of the SuperSport Group, the leading Croatian gaming and sportsbook operator with a 54% market share."
"This transaction is the largest all-time deal in the CEE region, by the value of the consideration of approximately EUR 920 million and its implications exceeding not just Croatia, but also the entire CEE region," DTB announced.
As previously reported, Divjak Topic Bahtijarevic & Krka has advised Entain on its acquisition of the SuperSport Group from Emma Capital. Lovric Novokmet Partneri and Dentons advised Emma Capital on the sale. Clifford Chance reportedly advised Entain as well.
According to DTB, the acquisition was "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."
"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 updated team was led by Senior Partner Damir Topic and included Managing Partner Emir Bahtijarevic, Partner Ema Mendusic Skugor, Attorneys Olena Manuilenko, Jasna Belcic, Andrej Zmikic, Dina Salapic, Dominik Glavina, Sanja Novoselic, Ana-Maria Sunko Peric, and Iva Vukoja, and Associates 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.
Dentons’ 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.
