Groupe FDJ has penned an agreement to acquire ZEturf Group, one of France’s largest online horse race and sports betting brands.
Founded in 2001, ZEturf Group has around 100 employees and an annual revenue of nearly €50m, operating online sports betting but specialising in horse racing.
Under the provisions of the agreement, FDJ will pay around €175m for the betting group, with specific performance conditions stipulating an additional fee in 2023.
Closure of the transaction is expected to take place in the second half of 2023, with the ZEturf operations contributing to FDJ’s sports betting and online games business units from FY2024.
Emmanuel de Rohan-Chabot, Founder of the ZEturf group, commented: “Twelve years after the opening of online betting to competition in France, the merger of the ZEturf group with the online sports betting activities of the FDJ group constitutes a new stage in its development by bringing together the strengths of two complementary players.
“It is also an opportunity for its teams to bring their expertise to a committed group with strong ambitions and to benefit from the synergies thus created.”
This comes at a time of bustling M&A activity for FDJ, which is aiming to become one of the main players across the French online gambling industry.
Part of this strategy also entailed launching its first online poker range – Jackpot Sit & Go – which will be expanded to include all online poker formats approved by the French National Gambling Authority (ANJ).
In July, FDJ acquired L’Addition, a payment management, point of sales systems and management services firm, operating across the hospitality sector. Shortly afterward, the group supplemented this acquisition with the launch of its new payment solution brand ,Nirio.
Stéphane Pallez, Chairman and CEO of the FDJ group, declared: “I am delighted with the signing of an agreement for the acquisition of the ZEturf group, a major player in online horse racing betting.
“With this operation and the launch of a poker offer which reinforces its growth prospects, FDJ is ideally positioned to become a major player in the French competitive online gaming market, while remaining faithful to its recreational, responsible gaming model. and redistributive.”