ZCZC
BCN-24
FRANCE-ECONOMY-GAMBLING-IPO
Shares in French lottery operator soar in market debut
PARIS, Nov 21, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Investors cheered the market debut
Thursday of shares in France’s state-owned lottery monopoly, with eager
buyers pushing the stock up more than 15 percent in the opening minutes of
trading.
The government reaped some two billion euros ($2.2 billion) from selling a
52 percent stake in the Francaise des Jeux (FDJ), whose scratchcards and
lotteries are played by millions.
Around a third of the shares was reserved for individual investors, who
snapped up a chance to own part of a company that will maintain its lottery
monopoly for the next 25 years.
The government is hoping a successful public offering will help entice wary
investors back to the stock market, and build support for President Emmanuel
Macron’s reform drive to bolster economic growth.
Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who rang the opening bell at the Paris
Stock Exchange to mark the occasion, hailed “an immense popular success.”
The strong trading debut “signals a reconciliation of the French with the
economy and the markets” after the financial crisis that rocked the global
economy in 2008.
Investor demand prompted the government to set the IPO price at 19.90
euros, the high end of the indicative range.
At 10:00 am (0900 GMT) the shares had climbed 16 percent, to 22.60 euros.
Individual investors were given a two percent discount from the IPO price,
and will be given a free share for every 10 bought if they hold them for at
least 18 months.
Francaise des Jeux is the second-biggest betting company in Europe and the
fourth in the world.
Critics have likened the privatisation to selling off the family jewels,
but the government says it needs to raise money for innovation — and has no
business running companies that can be operated privately.
After the FDJ share sale, the government plans to privatise Aeroports de
Paris, which runs the Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports, and also sell
shares in the natural gas and electricity utility Engie.
BSS/AFP/RY/1520 hrs