Sisal triggers demerger ahead of UK National Lottery bid

Sisal Group has announced plans to split its payments division from its core lotteries and gaming business in a corporate reorganisation. The demerger will see the Mooney Group SpA division that operates the payments business become independent from the wider Sisal SpA business, with Mooney no longer directly acting as a Sisal Group SpA subsidiary. To facilitate this, a newly incorporated business has been created in SG2 SpA, into which Sisal SpA’s 70% shareholding of shares in Mooney Group will be transferred. The Italian operator said the demerger is aimed at “rationalising and reorganising” the control chain of the wider group. In tandem, a second demerger process has been approved where shares in Sisal SpA operational subsidiaries will be transferred to parent company Sisal Group SpA. Subject to necessary authorisations being received, the demerger will be completed by November 2021. Since 2016, Sisal Group has been 100% controlled by CVC Capital Partners through the merger by incorporation of Schumann Investments S.A. Sisal SpA, which operates the lottery and gaming business, is expected to enter the contest to run the UK National Lottery licence to add to its existing SuperEnalotto Italian lottery concession. In June, Sisal agreed a partnership with BT to provide the Milan-headquartered firm with advice on how to combine UK mobile and fixed networks with the latest technology to widen the appeal of the National Lottery. In its tender process, the UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) cited “significant untapped potential” in the National Lottery brand and that it was looking to “opportunities for innovation and flexibility” via the next tender.