OPAP holds talks with partners to expand abroad
OPAP SA, Europe’s biggest publicly traded gambling company, is in talks with «numerous people» in its bid to expand beyond Greece, Chief Executive Officer Christos Hadjiemmanuil said. «We are holding discussions with numerous people, including people who have never been mentioned in the press,» Hadjiemmanuil said in a phone interview yesterday. «We’re exploring possibilities in various directions.» Hadjiemmanuil said he had no comment on a report today in the Eleftherotypia newspaper that OPAP and Intralot SA, the world’s second-biggest gambling services provider, are discussing teaming up to expand outside Greece or on speculation that it would buy a stake in Codere SA, the Spanish bingo hall operator. «I don’t comment on such reports,» he said. Athens-based OPAP, with sales last year of 5 billion euros ($7 billion), is seeking to make acquisitions outside Greece. (Bloomberg)
