Flutter CEO suggests US listing could impact international expansion
Peter Jackson notes global opportunities are plentiful but that investor focus on FanDuel and the group’s “right level of leverage” could dictate strategy
Flutter Entertainment CEO Peter Jackson has said further investment into the group’s International arm could hinge on its upcoming secondary listing in the US.
Speaking on an analyst call following the release of the firm’s H1 results, the CEO said that while there was scope to expand across the globe, it needed to be actioned with due diligence.
According to a slide from Flutter’s presentation, the business highlighted how it has a presence in more than 20 regulated markets but has yet to secure a podium position across some in Europe, Latam and Africa.
These include Germany and Poland in Europe, where rival Entain recently snapped up Poland’s market-leading bookmaker, STS, in a deal worth £750m.
Nigeria and South Africa are also markets the FTSE 100 firm has a presence in but without being a leading brand while the group noted the likes of Argentina and Colombia in Latam as being in a similar position.
The firm’s International arm generated a 74% year-on-year (YoY) rise in revenue during H1 2023 to £1.2bn, driven by its acquisition of Italian lottery giant Sisal.
On a pro forma basis, revenue increased by just 8%.
While Jackson refused to be drawn on the company’s M&A pipeline, he said the group did have the experience and capacity to pull off bolt-on acquisitions.
However, given the impending secondary listing of shares in the US later this year, coupled with the fact this could result in a primary listing stateside in the future, Jackson erred on the side of caution.
“There’s a lot of opportunities for us to expand. I think we have to be thoughtful about what is the right level of leverage for us to carry as a business,” he said.
“There are factors in that which we need to think about in terms of the earnings profile for this business now, and also whether the US listing will change investors’ views on any of those things.
“I think from a capacity perspective, we’ve been very pleased with our ability to integrate the assets that we’ve acquired to date.
“While it is something we have to be thoughtful of, I think our ability to make bolt-on acquisitions into the business, particularly across our International division, is something we’re very comfortable with,” he added.
The US division – primarily FanDuel – remains the crown jewel for Flutter. The US returned revenue of £1.8bn, up 63% YoY, with FanDuel also returning $100m in positive EBITDA.
Flutter recently announced its plans to close the struggling Fox Bet brand in the US to focus resources on FanDuel, which has a 47% share of the US sports betting market.