Banijay Group CEO François Riahi has said that the French firm’s future growth plans won’t be hampered by its acquisition of Tipico Group, and that the gaming and content businesses will remain combined for the time being.

Yesterday (28 October), Banijay Group announced the acquisition of the Germany- and Austria-facing operator in a deal worth up to €3bn.  

The deal will combine Banijay Group’s Betclic brand with Tipico and Admiral Austria, with the parent company holding a controlling 65% stake in the combined entity. 

Management said the merger will see the combined operator become the fourth largest sports betting and igaming operator in Europe. 

Speaking on Banijay Group’s presentation call following the transaction, Riahi said that despite the financial constraints that may come with the merger, the company’s ambition for future growth hasn’t been dampened. 

Banijay Group will continue to run Banijay Gaming and its content and entertainment houses, Banijay Entertainment and Banijay Live.

Regulus Partners said in a flashnote yesterday that the group structure looked “like a decreasingly logical conglomerate to us, but that is a very Anglo-Saxon worldview”.

Riahi added that the business would continue with this dual approach moving ahead, despite the significant outlay of the acquisition.

Clear view

He said: “It’s difficult to say things [are] forever. But I think we presented during our Capital Markets Day a quite clear view on our strategy and this deal is testimony that we are delivering on this strategy and this strategy is a good one.

“But, again, I think we cannot say things [are] forever.  We believe that our industry and the segments of the industry where we are operating are consolidating, and we want to be able to seize opportunities to take part in this consolidation and to lead this consolidation.  

“We have the opportunity to do it in the sports betting business with this important acquisition. It doesn’t change our view on the content business, which we believe is also consolidating and that we are monitoring carefully. 

“Of course there are financial limits on what we can do, but at the same time we are buying a company with strong cash flow generation, and we expect the deleveraging to be quick.

“It in no way reduces our ambition on the content business, but of course we will take into account the impact of this transaction on our financials.  

Riahi went on to rule out any major acquisitions in the short term, with the Tipico deal expected to be completed midway through 2026. 

He added: “It’s a very large transaction and acquisition, and the focus for our teams will be on integration and not doing any more M&A in the short term. It’s a very strong industrial project that we want to get right.  

“We believe that this acquisition positions us as a consolidator of the business going forward, but it is clear that our first focus will be to digest and create value.” 

From 1 January 2026, Betclic CEO Nicolas Béraud will become chair of the board of Banijay Gaming. He will be replaced in his role by Betclic COO Julien Brunc.  

Joachim Baca, chair and former CEO of Tipico, will become vice-chair of Banijay Gaming, while Tipico CEO Axel Hefer will remain in his current role.

The post Banijay Group CEO: Tipico acquisition won’t disrupt content division plans first appeared on EGR Intel.