Latest news with #PremierLotteriesIreland
Irish Independent
07-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Irish operator of National Lottery to pay French owner €35m
French lottery operator La Française des Jeux (FDJ) acquired Premier Lotteries Ireland, which holds the exclusive rights to operate the Irish National Lottery until 2034. The deal placed a €350m enterprise value – which includes debt – on the transaction. It saw all three shareholders in Premier Lotteries Ireland sell their stakes. The owners were Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, An Post and An Post Pension Fund. Now FDJ is taking cash off the table. 'The accounts show a €100m dividend was paid in 2023 to the shareholders' In a company filing for Premier Lotteries Ireland, a resolution details the amount of cash that will be extracted by FDJ. It's being undertaken by way of a reduction in the Irish company's capital. It will result in the cancellation of 35 million shares in the firm, each of which are held by FDJ. It's intended that the money will be returned as cash to the French owner on May 26. Last month, a 'bonus issue of shares', amounting to 72.7 million shares in Premier Lotteries, was handed over to FDJ. The latest set of publicly available accounts for Premier Lotteries Ireland show that it made a €7.7m operating loss in 2023. That compared to an €8.2m operating profit in 2022. The accounts also show that a €100m dividend was paid during 2023 to shareholders. Lottery sales in 2023 hit €829.4m. Of that, draw-based games generated €531.5m in revenue. Sales of scratch cards and interactive instant win games were €298m. ADVERTISEMENT At the end of 2023, there were almost 5,200 sale points throughout the country. Online sales in 2023 fell to €132m from €141.4m the year before. Prizes fell to €478m from €485m in 2022. Under the terms of the lottery licence, 65pc of gross gaming revenue has to be paid to fund good causes. The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan acquired the lottery operator in 2014 for €405m. That deal granted a 20-year licensing period and included An Post and An Post Pension Funds as junior partners While An Post has been a minority shareholder since the licence was privatised in the wake of the financial crisis, the sale to the French firm in 2023 meant there was no state involvement in the National Lottery for the first time since it was created.
Irish Independent
07-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Irish lottery operator to pay French owner €35m
French lottery operator La Française des Jeux (FDJ) acquired Premier Lotteries Ireland, which holds the exclusive rights to operate the Irish National Lottery until 2034. The deal placed a €350m enterprise value – which includes debt – on the transaction. It saw all three shareholders in Premier Lotteries Ireland sell their stakes. The owners were Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, An Post and An Post Pension Fund. Now FDJ is taking cash off the table. In a company filing for Premier Lotteries Ireland, a resolution details the amount of cash that will be extracted by FDJ. It's being undertaken by way of a reduction in the Irish company's capital. It will result in the cancellation of 35m shares in the firm, each of which are held by FDJ. It's intended that the money will be returned as cash to the French owner on May 26. Last month, a 'bonus issue of shares', amounting to 72.7m shares in Premier Lotteries, was handed over to FDJ. The latest set of publicly available accounts for Premier Lotteries Ireland show that it made a €7.7m operating loss in 2023. That compared to an €8.2m operating profit in 2022. The accounts also show that a €100m dividend was paid during 2023 to shareholders. Lottery sales in 2023 hit €829.4m. Of that, draw-based games generated €531.5m in revenue. Sales of scratch cards and interactive instant win games were €298m. At the end of 2023, there were almost 5,200 sale points throughout the country. Online sales in 2023 fell to €132.m from €141.4m the year before. Prizes fell to €478m from €485m in 2022. Under the terms of the lottery licence, 65pc of gross gaming revenue has to be paid to fund good causes. The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, acquired the lottery operator in 2014 for €405m. That deal that granted a 20-year licensing period and included An Post and An Post Pension Funds as junior partners While An Post has been a minority shareholder since the licence was privatised in the wake of the financial crisis, the sale to the French firm in 2023 meant there was no state involvement in the National Lottery for the first time since it was created.
