Cirsa Might Go Public in April, According to Rumors

The private equity firm Blackstone might make Cirsa public with official announcements expected to come on March 13, according to some rumors.

Cirsa to Allegedly Go Public in April

According to recent rumors, Blackstone aims to take the Spanish gambling company Cirsa public in mid-April. This was first reported by the Spanish financial publication Expansión, which has cited unnamed market sources. If this is the case, the move could raise between $746 million and $1.1 billion by offering 20% to 25% of the company’s shares on Madrid’s stock exchange.

Back in November last year, Blackstone announced its plans to put shares in Cirsa. However, soon after that, there was a postponement due to market instability surrounding the U.S. presidential election. It is currently impossible to say with one hundred percent certainty when Blackstone plans to make an official announcement on the matter. However, Expansión reported that Cirsa is expected to reveal its plans to go public on or around March 13.

It should be noted that nothing is yet set in stone. But the date given by Expansión might have some credence thanks to the recent words of Cirsa CFO Antonio Grau. During a recent analyst conference, Grau said that the company would make the decision to go public in the next few weeks, contingent on market stability. It will have a four-month window, starting from the presentation of its audited annual results on February 20, to take this step before needing to file new audited accounts.

What Other Challenges Could Come Up?

While market volatility over the US presidential elections was cited as one of the main reasons for the initial delay in Cirsa going public last year, there are more. For example, the regulatory environment for gambling in Spain and other major markets is still changing, and Cirsa’s dependence on these regions makes the company vulnerable to shifts in policy. While the Supreme Court ruling has eased advertising restrictions, public sentiment toward gambling remains wary, and there could be future legal challenges.

In addition, the gambling industry is under increased global scrutiny, with many regions tightening regulations on operations and marketing. Cirsa will need to carefully navigate these challenges to maintain growth and meet investor expectations after its IPO.

Cirsa has been doing very well financially in recent times, reporting an operating profit of $746 million for 2024, reflecting an 11% rise compared to the previous year. Revenue for 2024 increased by 8% year-on-year, reaching $2.3 billion compared to $2.1 billion in 2023. The last quarter of 2024 was particularly strong, with the company seeing $636 million in operating revenue, up 13.7% year-on-year, and $205 million in operating profit, a 17.3% increase compared to Q4 2023. Last year marked the third consecutive year of record-breaking performance since Blackstone acquired Cirsa in 2018.