Intralot Hires Evercore, Retains Allen & Overy for Strategic Review; Final 3 Bulgarian Licenses Suspended; 2021 Notes Fall to 19/20

Relevant Document:
Bulgarian License Suspension, March 25

Greek gaming company Intralot has hired Evercore and retained Allen & Overy to assist in a strategic review of its capital structure, sources told Reorg. Intralot intends to start a dialogue with bondholders in the first half of 2020, it has said.

Intralot now has no active operations in Bulgaria after the State Gambling Commission temporarily suspended Eurofootball Ltd.’s three remaining betting licenses yesterday. The suspension is for three months and is in response to a dispute over how state fees are calculated.

The company’s €250 million senior notes due September 2021 fell about 10 points to 19.7 today, while its €500 million senior notes due 2024 declined 17 points to 33.

Intralot now has no revenue-generating capacity in Bulgaria. The combined EBITDA contribution from its Bulgarian operations to the group was €19.3 million for the first nine months of 2019. Eurobet is no longer operational, while betting accounts with Eurofootball have been frozen following yesterday's decision to suspend it’s three remaining betting licenses.

On Feb. 24, Intralot lost three of its six betting licenses issued to its two Bulgarian subsidiaries, Eurofootball Ltd., and Eurobet Ltd, and was hit with a retrospective charge for unpaid state fees. Intralot was considering applying for alternative licenses or pursuing litigation, however sources close to the company said management is not optimistic about the resumption of trade.

Intralot has not communicated how it has been affected by the Covid-19 crisis. Other gaming credits have taken some action to preserve liquidity following the shutdown of retail operations across Europe, while sports betting businesses are under pressure due to sporting events being canceled, as reported.

The company’s capital structure is below:
 
-- Connor Lovell, Luca Rossi, Jaishree Kalia