Spanish gambling company Cirsa makes lacklustre market debut
MADRID, July 9 (Reuters) - Shares of Blackstone's BX.N gambling company Cirsa CIRSA.MC closed flat on their trading debut on Wednesday in a lukewarm welcome to Spain's second initial public offering this year.
The shares rose as much as 6.7% at the start of trading but soon pared gains, before falling back to close at their IPO price of 15 euros ($17.56) apiece.
Though one of the bookrunners said last week that the IPO had been heavily oversubscribed, unsatisfied demand has failed to push up the market price, contrary to market expectations.
"What matters to us is the long-term course of the shares," a company spokesperson said.
Cirsa operates casinos and gambling platforms in Spain, where it is the largest casino operator. It also has operations in Italy and Morocco, as well as in Latin America. Cirsa entered Portugal and Puerto Rico last year.
The Barcelona-based company, which owns the sports betting chain Sportium and the Marbella casino, had set the maximum offering size, including the over-allotment option, at 521 million euros. The IPO gave it a valuation of 2.52 billion euros.
"This new stage ... will enable us to implement our winning strategy of profitable and sustainable growth at a faster pace," Cirsa's executive chairman, Joaquim Agut, said in a statement.
The IPO is the first in Spain since travel tech company HBX Group HBX.MC raised 725 million euros in February in a deal that valued it at 2.84 billion euros at the time.
Equity capital markets offerings from issuers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa totalled $71.2 billion in the first half of 2025, a 25% drop from a year ago and a two-year low.
($1 = 0.8541 euro)
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