Entain PLC: Portfolio optimising - starting with a 20% stake in Entain CEE

Research evidence excerpt

Entain PLC: Portfolio optimising - starting with a 20% stake in Entain CEE

Deutsche Bank Group

Deutsche Numis Research

Rating Company Date

Buy Entain PLC 25 June 2026

Europe Reuters Bloomberg Rating Buy

United Kingdom ENT.L ENT LN Price target (GBX) 1,028.0 Price at 24 Jun 26 554.4

52-week range 1,022.0 – 526.6

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Portfolio optimising - starting with a 20%

stake in Entain CEE RichardResearchStuberAnalyst

+44-20-754-54617

Disposal of 20% stake in Entain CEE.

Tim Barrett • Entain, which currently has a 62.5% stake in Entain CEE, has announced Research Analyst

it is divesting a 20% stake to its JV partner EMMA Capital for a total cash +44-20-7541-1559

consideration of £366m, equivalent to a 10x EBITDA multiple.

Sonu Churiwal

• Entain CEE consists of two operating businesses, STS in Poland, which Research Associate

it bought in 2023 for £750m, and SuperSport in Croatia.

• Net proceeds will be used to reduce Entain’s outstanding debt (3.6x on a

‘look through’ basis) and the transaction is expected to be broadly neutral

to EPS and adj. cash flow (incl. c.£20m annualized interest cost savings).

Although no timeframe has been laid out, management expects to fully

exit Entain CEE in due course using future proceeds to reduce leverage

to below 3x and return excess capital to shareholders.

• Also in the press release, management has stated it is comfortable with

market expectations for FY26 group underlying EBITDA (£1,130m exc

BetMGM parent fees) and that it is on track to generate £500m FCF in

2028.

DB view:

• This divestment had already been somewhat anticipated in the press

(Reuters) last week, so this was not wholly unexpected. We also

discussed ‘portfolio optimisation’ within our note in March following our