Codere Restructuring Complete, Asset Sale Likely to Start Soon

Posted on: November 22, 2021, 07:19h. 

Last updated on: November 22, 2021, 10:14h.

Erik Gibbs Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Gaming Business, Global Gaming.

Codere SA confirmed that it’s financial restructuring, which was initiated earlier in the year, is now complete. The planned liquidation for the international gambling company is expected to start shortly.

Codere Office
Codere’s main office located in Spain, seen above. The company will now be controlled by shareholders. (Image: Luis Garcia)

Codere SA will lose its position as the parent company for the Codere operating group.

Exactly 95% of Codere SA’s control will be transferred to Codere New Topoco SA, controlled by shareholders, with the remaining 5% in the hands of the former company.

New Codere Retains Status Quo

Codere Newco, the new holding company of the group’s operating companies, will continue to “operate normally and attend to its obligations, business partners, and clients,” while remaining active in Spain, Italy, Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico and Panama, according to a statement by the company.

The company has seen a strong rise in turnover since the reopening of Latin American national markets allowed it to resume activity in all jurisdictions where it holds an operating license.

Codere provided a financial update on the first nine months in 2021 ahead of the completion of the restructuring. It stated that total revenue had reached €499.6 million ($562.54 million) at the end of the period. This is an 8.5% increase, even though the Spanish gambling company acknowledged that there are still challenges in Uruguay and Italy.

Bolsa Madrid agreed to liquidate the group, which would allow its stakeholders to receive financial compensation. This would be in the form of a sale of a portion of their shares or warrants. The firm expects that the external liquidator will be appointed at the General Meeting.

Company shareholders would invest €225 million (US $253.44 million) in the company. They also agreed to capitalize more than €350 million (US $394.17 million) in debt corresponding to existing senior guarantees bonds. Additionally, the extension of the debt maturities to September 2026 and November 2027 was locked in place.

Codere Online Goes Public

DD3 Acquisition Corp. II, a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), announced Friday that its stockholders voted to approve its previously announced business with Codere Online. That’s the online gaming arm held by Codere. Operating in Latin America, Codere Online has become the first publicly traded online gaming firm in the region.

The proposed arrangement will close around November 30. However, certain closing conditions must be met. After the closing, the ordinary shares and warrants of Codere Online Luxembourg SA (“Holdco”) should begin trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market with the symbols “CDRO” and “CDROW,” respectively.

New Board Members Come to Codere Online

Codere has appointed six of the seven board members. Four of them have been nominated and confirmed by Codere Newco. They are Codere Online managing director Moshe Edree, CFO Oscar Iglesias and Codere Newco chief of strategy and corporate relations Alejandro Rodino. Laurent Teitgen joins as an independent director.

DD3 has named two independent directors. Martin Werner, DD3 chairman and CEO, is expected to also serve as chairman of Codere Online’s Audit Committee. Daniel Valdez, managing director and portfolio manager at MG Capital, joins as well.

Before the completion of the business merger, a non-industry expert director will be appointed as the chairman. This is expected to happen in the coming weeks.