Ireland's lottery firm to be sold to French operator in €350m deal

Premier Lotteries Ireland said nothing will change regarding how the lottery itself raises funding, as it will remain in Irish State ownership.

The company that operates Ireland’s national lottery is to be sold to the operator of France’s own lottery in a deal worth €350m.

The full share capital of Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI), currently majority owned by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan with minority stakes held by An Post, is to be sold to La Francaise des Jeux, pending approval by the lottery regulator.

That approval is expected to be delivered some time before the end of 2023. The deal has been in gestation for several months after PLI was put up for sale earlier this year.

PLI said that the sale will see the “vast expertise” of the French operator brought to bear on the Irish operation, while nothing will change in terms of how the lottery itself raises funding, given the lottery itself will remain in Irish State ownership.

Vivienne Jupp, chair of PLI, said that the company had “moved from strength to strength” since first winning the licence to operate the Irish lottery in 2014.

She said the company “looks forward to the next chapter of growth, where we will be able to share best practices with FDJ and continue to operate a responsible world-class lottery for the people of Ireland”.

Delight at acquisition

Announcing the deal to the French market, FDJ’s chairman Stephane Pallez said he was “delighted” with the acquisition.

Becoming a foreign lottery operator marks a major new step in the international development of the FDJ group.

Last year, Premier Lotteries Ireland recorded gross revenue of €399m with turnover of €140m, with relative earnings by scale comparable with that of the French operator.

A deal to sell PLI had been well flagged since the beginning of the year.

PLI was first acquired by the Canadian fund in 2014 for €405m via a deal which included a 20-year licence to operate the Irish lottery.

An Post had previously denied that its own minority holding in the company would be sold, even if the OTPP stake were to change hands.

The sale is the latest by OTPP, which previously sold off its lottery businesses in both the UK and Illinois.