Codere Weighs Splitting Three Divisions to Revive €2bn Sale
Grupo Codere is weighing a break-up to get a deal over the line. The Spanish operator is looking at selling its European, Latin American and US-listed online divisions separately, after the €2bn auction it launched in March failed to bring buyers forward as fast as its owners wanted.
Jefferies and Macquarie were hired as financial advisors in March. A quick process was the expectation. It hasn't turned out that way. The 56 investment funds with money in Codere are getting restless, and carving the group into three arms is now on the table as a way to attract bidders who don't want the whole thing.
Outside pressure is building too. Lottomatica and CIRSA are moving toward a merger worth roughly €2.8bn, with shareholders due to vote on final terms at the end of this month. Codere sits right in the middle of that collision. It's one of the biggest operators in CIRSA's home Spanish market, and it also runs in Italy, where Lottomatica is a heavyweight. A combined rival would make Codere's standalone position harder to sell.
The numbers, though, are working in Codere's favour. Group gaming revenue rose 5.8% year on year to €352.5m in the second quarter of 2026. Adjusted EBITDA climbed 14.1% to €57.6m. Debt has come down sharply since a 2024 recapitalisation cut it from €1.4bn to €190m. A cleaner balance sheet makes the group easier to price.
Codere Online is doing its own selling job. The Nasdaq-listed arm, floated in early 2021, posted its best quarter yet: net gaming revenue up 27% year on year to €69.4m. Shares have gained almost 40% over the past 12 months to $8.52. Buyers looking at that listing will have noticed.
What they'll also have noticed: tougher competition in Codere's main European markets, and the risk of stricter rules in Mexico and Argentina, two of its key Latin American territories. Those are the parts of the story that spook acquirers. Splitting the divisions lets each buyer take on only the risk it can stomach.
For affiliates, the practical question is where traffic and rev-share deals land if the group is carved up. A separate European or LatAm owner would likely revisit commercial terms market by market. Anyone heavily weighted to Codere brands should be watching which division draws the first bid.
No transaction for any part of the wider business has materialised yet, and not at the speed shareholders had in mind. The next hard marker is the Lottomatica–CIRSA shareholder vote at the end of the month.