Entain Set to Raise $1.125bn for M&A via New USD Loan

Global sports betting and gaming group Entain Plc announced it successfully priced and allocated a First Lien Term Loan B denominated in US dollars to the amount of $1.125 billion and with a maturity date of March 29, 2027.

New USD Loan

Entain explained that borrowers of the New Loan, which achieved favorable pricing of LIBOR + 250bps due to very strong global demand for credit investments and was allocated at 99.75, will be its wholly-owned subsidiaries Entain Holdings (Gibraltar) Limited and GVC Finance LLC.

According to the terms of the allocation, the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) will be subjected to a 0.5% floor, while the premium will be adjusted with +/- 25bps depending on leverage as defined in the Senior Facilities Agreement being greater than 3x of less than 2x.

The New Loan is set to generate proceeds for refinancing or repayment of Etain’s existing First Lien Term Loan B in US dollars, amounting to $774 million and with a maturity date of March 29, 2024. Additionally, $351 million of the New Loan proceeds will be available to the company by the end of July when it expects the transaction to close and will be allocated to support corporate development at the group, as well as M&A.

New EUR Loan

The repayment of Etain’s existing $774 million First Lien Term Loan B was initially announced earlier in the month when the group released information about a new 5-year Revolving Credit Facility (RCF) agreed with the group’s lenders to the amount of £590 million ($818 million), which would replace the company’s existing £535 million ($742 million) RCF due to expire in March 2023. By that time, Entain also announced it would price and allocate a new First Lien Term Loan B for €300 million ($356 million).

Shortly after, Entain issued a first-half trading update to raise earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) expectations for FY2021 to £850 million ($1.179 billion) to £900 million ($1.248 billion) range, with a strategic and operational update set to be provided by the company at an investor event on August 12, 2021.

M&A Target

By the end of June, there were speculations Entain was preparing to blow its competitors for the gaming and media businesses of Australian gaming group Tabcorp by offering in excess of AU$4 billion ($3.08 billion), but after it failed to convince Tabcorp to sell, the group’s focus might be turning towards its domestic market.

Despite not officially declaring its interest in the non-US assets of William Hill, there were speculations that the top candidate to acquire William Hill’s UK betting shops valued at around $2 billion by Caesars Entertainment was Entain.

Entain is likely to face strong competition from the initial candidate to acquire William Hill, Apollo Global Management, as well as UK rivals, Flutter Entertainment and Betfred.