Intralot Completes Sale of Intralot do Brazil’s 80% Stake to Saga

Intralot SA, a global lottery and sports betting products and technology supplier headquartered in Greece, announced the completion of the deal for the sale of its stake in Intralot do Brazil.

Second Latin American Business Sale

The deal, which was initially announced in May after Saga, the only other shareholder in the Brazilian business, agreed to a total cash consideration of €700,000 ($848,000) for the 80% stake of the Greek-based company, allowed Intralot to offload a unit which contributed to only 0.5% of group’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) in 2020.

The completion of the deal means that Saga now has full control over the business, while Intralot will continue to be the business’ technology supplier, a role the Greek-based company has been utilizing with lotteries in Brazil for years via Intralot do Brazil.

The technology company entered Brazil in 2008 and only two years later its Intralot do Brazil business teamed with the first state-owned lottery operator in the country, the state lottery in Minas Gerais Loteria Mineira, to launch its first lottery product.

Intralot do Brazil established a significant presence in Minas Gerais, running 3,000 points of sale across 500 municipalities. In partnership with Loteria Mineira, the business made a BRL33 million ($6.6 million) donation to the State Health Fund last year.

Brazil represents the second Latin American country in which Intralot retreats from direct participation in local business after a deal in February saw the Greek-based company sell its 20% holdings in Intralot de Peru SA. The $21 million initially agreed price with private equity business Nexus Group went down to $16.2 million after subtracting taxes and transaction costs related to the deal.

Focus on Micro-Betting Markets in the US

And while retreating from Latin American jurisdictions, Intralot continued with its efforts to expand its presence in the growing sports betting markets across the US, and affirm its position in Georgia, Montana, and Washington DC.

Among the latest initiatives launched by the sports betting and lottery technology supplier was the launch of micro-betting products in Washington DC and Montana.

Intralot and its partner Simplebet made a debut for the innovative micro-betting product which allows every second of a sporting event to become a wagering market in the early months of 2021 on the National Football League (NFL) playoffs.

Following the initial success, in May Intralot and Simplebet expanded the rollout to cover games from the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Baseball (MLB).

Earlier in June, Intralot released its first-quarter earnings report, posting 9.3% growth in group revenue year-over-year and a 55.4% increase in EBITDA compared to the same first three months in 2020.