Candidates to present their offers to acquire 49.9 % of Codere

The 100% of the company has been valued in 1,500 million euros. Codere situation has changed a lot in the last year, because it has ordered its financial situation and has started generating benefits again.

Altough Codere just admitted that continues studying different alternatives to reestructure the capital and finance the expansion plan, the truth is that Martínez Sanpedro family has decided to sell its shares. They have decided to sell a minority percentage of 49.9% that allows them to keep the control of the management and administration council.

Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse expect to receive in these days the non-binding offers of the candidates, like Permira, Apax, Texas Pacific Group (TPG), Carlyle and BC Partners, which will have to put a price to a company valued in 1,500 million euros.

Financial sources say that this amount could be quite high considering that potencial buyers may just acquire a minority share.

Sources close to the operation assure that Martínez Sanpedro family want the operation to bring stability to a company that, since 1999, has passed through financial problems that obliged them to obtain financial support through the stock market at very high prices. Now they want to create a share nucleus that would allow them to continue with the expansion plan through acquisitions.

Codere situation has changed a lot last year. Spanish leader in the gamlbing sector has registered a net benefit of 11.5 million euros in 2006, which supposes an increment of 149%, while colletion reached 760.7 million euros, a 61.3% more than in 2005.

Codere is inmersed in an expansion plan that in the last ten months led to the acquisition of a company in Italy (Rete Franco Italy) and Recreativos Mae. Besides, the company owned by Franco brothers has signed an alliance with William Hill to develop sporting bets in Spain. The development of this joint venture will be crucial, because Madrid council will allow, in short, the opening of betting centres, while in the rest of the country the activity remains forbidden.

Codere operates more than 45,000 slots, 116 bingo halls, 51 sports betting centres, 2 horse racetracks and 5 casinos in Spain, Italy, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Panama and Uruguay.