Codere has formally appointed investment banks Jefferies and Macquarie Capital to manage a sale of the Spanish gambling group, with the company valued at above €2 billion, according to a report in Spanish financial newspaper Expansión citing sources familiar with the process.
The Madrid-based operator runs physical and digital gaming networks across Spain, Italy, Argentina, Mexico, Panama, Colombia, and Uruguay. Its Codere Online division trades separately on the Nasdaq exchange.
Timeline and Process
The sale process is at an early stage, but advisors have set a fast-moving schedule for interested parties. Indicative, non-binding offers are expected by mid-May. Formal binding bids are due in early July. The current ownership group is targeting a completed transaction before the traditional European summer break in August.
Neither Codere, Jefferies, nor Macquarie Capital has publicly commented on the reported process.
Ownership Structure
Codere was founded in 1980 by the Martínez Sampedro family, who built it into Spain’s second-largest gaming company behind Cirsa. The family lost operational control following a major debt-for-equity restructuring completed in 2024, in which creditors converted their holdings into equity.
The company is now owned by approximately 84 different investment funds. Davidson Kempner is the largest single shareholder with a 13.3% stake. Other significant shareholders include Palmerston Capital, Detroit Capital, System 2 Capital, and Invesco.
Strategic Value
Codere’s footprint spans two regions currently attracting sustained interest from international operators: Southern Europe and Latin America. In Spain, it operates across retail casinos, bingo halls, and sports betting shops. Its Italian business adds a second regulated European market with established infrastructure. The Latin American portfolio covers five countries, providing exposure to growing regulated markets including markets where online casino continues to show strong growth dynamics.
The inclusion of Codere Online in the sale package is a material part of the offer’s appeal. The division is the group’s fastest-growing segment, and its public listing on Nasdaq provides a degree of transparency around its performance. For an acquirer seeking to accelerate digital expansion in regulated markets, the combination of a mature land-based network and an established online arm reduces execution risk considerably.
Buyer Profile and Constraints
Expected bidders include large strategic operators seeking territorial scale, alongside institutional financial investors looking for established entertainment assets. The process may draw interest from operators active in Southern Europe or Latin America who see acquisition as a faster route to market leadership than organic growth.
The pool of potential financial buyers is narrowed by one structural constraint. Many private equity firms operate under ESG investment policies that prohibit capital deployment into gambling and sports betting, limiting the number of funds able to participate regardless of financial merit.
A comparable transaction for scale reference: Bally’s and Intralot completed a €2.7 billion acquisition in late 2025, illustrating that appetite for large-scale gaming M&A at this valuation level remains active in Europe.
Context
The sale comes as European gambling consolidation continues at pace, with operators under pressure from higher gaming taxes in key markets including the UK, Sweden, and the Netherlands. For a diversified group like Codere, with limited UK exposure and a significant LatAm revenue base, that regulatory profile may represent a selling point to buyers looking to reduce tax jurisdiction concentration. UK tax increases to 40% for online casino have forced operators to reassess their market mix, making geographically diversified assets more attractive to potential buyers.
Source: Expansión
