French Government Sells 50 Percent Stake in State Lottery

The French government plans to sell approximately 50 percent of its stake in the state-owned gambling company Francaise des Jeux (FDJ) as part of a wave of privatization of state enterprises, French media reported.

The government in Paris plans to sell stakes in state companies worth 10 billion euros to raise funds for the establishment of a new innovation financing fund, in line with President Emmanuel Macron’s pre-election promise.

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The lottery company is 72 percent owned by the French state and has long been mentioned among the primary candidates for privatization, Reuters reminds us. The state has finally decided to sell the company through an IPO that is expected to be completed by early 2019 at the latest, reported the French newspaper Journal de Dimanche, citing informed sources.

According to the French newspaper, the French state would retain a stake of about 25 percent in the second-largest state lottery in Europe, after Italy’s Lottomatica, and an additional stake could be purchased by an unnamed private investor from the gaming or media sector. The state holding company APE has engaged investment bank BNP Paribas and law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP to prepare the sale of the French Lottery.

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The Ministry of Economy did not wish to comment on media reports, and officials at the state holding company APE were not immediately available for comment.