OPAP tender to open this month
Tender process to sell stake in Greek monopoly rumoured to open tomorrow.
The Greek government is to sell off a 29% stake in gambling monopoly OPAP in order to raise funds to pay off its mounting debt, with the tender proces to be launched as early as tomorrow.
According to a report on Gamingbiz, Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos met with state privatisation body the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (TAIPED) officials on Tuesday to approve a programme that will see OPAP invite expressions of interest from 29 March. The government would retain a 5% stake in the company.
The move is part of the Greek government’s attempts to generate money from the privatisation of state assets, with the forlorn EU member state currently US$460bn in debt. The country’s national unity government is in the process of cutting 14.32bn in public spending and looking to raise 14.09bn in taxes over a five-year period, which has led to the sale of state assets including the gambling monopoly.
With a market value of 2.3bn, the sale of OPAP has been mooted by the government since last year, but was delayed due to plummeting stock prices. Greece has however already cashed in on new OPAP licenses, raising 800m in sales last year.
OPAP exclusively operates and manages lottery and sports betting games in Greece, and last November saw the part-state-owned operator gain shareholder approval for a 10-year extension of its monopoly with the Greek government.
This has been challenged by operator bodies the Remote Gambling Association (RGA) and the European Betting and Gaming Association (EGBA), who filed a complaint with the European Commission against “anti-protectionist and unjustified restrictions” being placed on private operators.
Last week OPAP announced its results for the year ended 31 December, with revenues plummeting 15.2% year-on-year. The 700m revenue decline, from 5.1bn to 4.4bn, was accompanied by a 6.7% fall in net profit to 537.5m, compared to 575.8m in FY 2010.
A consortium, comprised of Lottomatica, Intralot and Scientific Games, is one of three bidders for the Hellenic Lotteries licence, the tender process of which entered its second phase earlier this month.
OPAP was unavailable for comment.