French government begins privatisation of FDJ
No bidders confirmed, but government aims to sell off share by 2020
State-owned lottery operator Francaise des Jeux (FDJ) will be privatised during the remaining months of 2019, the French finance minister has confirmed.
In a speech at a conference hosted by French entrepreneur’s association MEDEF, Bruno Le Maire confirmed the process to transfer ownership from state into public hands had already begun.
“We have started on the privatisation of Francaise des Jeux which will take effect in the coming months,” Le Maire said.
No timescale has been given for the completion of this process, but many believe it will not complete fully until 2020.
Under the terms of the ‘Business Growth and Transformation Plan’ (PACTE), which passed into law in May, shareholdings in many state-owned businesses will be sold, including FDJ, French airport authority Group ADP and natural gas company ENGIE.
The move is part of a wider strategy to boost the French economy by liquidating assets. The French government currently owns a majority 72% share of FDJ but will reduce that shareholding to a minority stake of 20% as part of the privatisation process.
Banking groups BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Societe Generale, Credit Agricole, HSBC, Natixis and CIC have been appointed to handle the financial transactions associated with the privatisation.
In June, FDJ confirmed the agreement of a deal to acquire Sporting Group’s B2B arm Sporting Solutions, spread betting B2C firm Sporting Index and proprietary trading arm Touchbet for an undisclosed fee.
The move is part of FDJ’s strategic pivot towards B2B sports betting and saw the group agree a deal to provide the sportsbook for Ontario lottery monopoly OLG via the Bede Gaming platform.
Later in July, FDJ revealed a 5% year-on-year rise in its revenues for the first half of 2019, with H1 revenues topping €944m (£858m). Total stakes rose by 7% during the same period to a total of €8.42bn (£7.65m).