Merkur Moves to Take Control of Seven French Casinos and Delist SFC

PARIS – Merkur has agreed terms to acquire 95% of Casigrangi, a move that would give it control of seven French casinos and listed operator SFC.

If completed, the transaction would trigger a mandatory offer for Société Française de Casinos’ remaining shares, with Merkur ultimately seeking to take SFC private and delist it from Euronext Paris.

Merkur Spielbanken Beteiligungs GmbH, a subsidiary of MERKUR.COM AG, entered into a put option agreement with GPG Groupe Philippe Ginestet and DOFA on Aug. 27. The agreement allows Merkur to acquire 95% of Casigrangi, while DOFA would retain the remaining 5% subject to reciprocal put and call arrangements.

Deal Gives Merkur Control of Seven Casinos

Casigrangi is the holding company behind the Le Stelsia casino group. It controls casinos in Megève, Granville and Mimizan directly and four more in Gruissan, Port-la-Nouvelle, Collioure and Châtel-Guyon through Société Française de Casinos.

Casigrangi currently owns 4,135,434 SFC shares, representing approximately 81.21% of its capital and voting rights. According to the official transaction announcement, Merkur’s agreed terms imply a value of €6.19 for each SFC share.

That price represents a 195.9% premium to SFC’s volume-weighted average closing price over the 240 trading days before Aug. 27. It is also 157.9% above the Aug. 27 closing price, making the offer price substantially higher than SFC’s recent public-market valuation.

Mandatory Offer Could Lead to SFC Delisting

If the Casigrangi transaction closes, French takeover rules would require Merkur to make a simplified mandatory tender offer for the SFC shares it does not already control. Minority shareholders would be offered the same €6.19 cash price per share.

Merkur has said that if the required legal and regulatory conditions are met when the offer closes, it intends to pursue a squeeze-out of the remaining minority shareholders and remove SFC from Euronext Paris. SFC’s board will establish an independent committee to oversee an expert review of the offer and assess its consequences for shareholders and employees.

The acquisition would add another international market to Merkur’s expansion strategy. The German gaming group previously completed its acquisition of Las Vegas-based Gaming Arts, strengthening its presence in the U.S. gaming supply market.

Completion Targeted for Early 2027

The transaction has not yet been completed. A definitive share transfer agreement is expected only after mandatory employee information and consultation procedures involving Casigrangi and the Casino de Gruissan social and economic committee.

Completion is also subject to regulatory approvals, including authorization from France’s Ministry of the Interior. The parties currently expect the acquisition to close during the first quarter of 2027, after which Merkur could file its tender offer with the Autorité des marchés financiers during the first half of the year.

SFC expects gross gaming revenue of approximately €22.5 million for its 2025-26 financial year, alongside net gaming revenue of €13.3 million and EBITDA of about €3.5 million. Those figures remain company forecasts rather than completed full-year results.

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