Praythe Murcian gaming group, paid an amount of one euro for the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Recreational Francoan operation that the parties announced in November last yearalthough it was not formalized until December 29.
A symbolic price for a historic company in the sector, specializing in the manufacture of machines, but which in recent years has accumulated significant losses, in addition to a continuous drop in its income, which the pandemic ended up propping up. As reflected in the consolidated accounts that Orenes has just deposited in the Mercantile Registry, the absorption of Recreativos Franco took place for a fixed price of one euro, in addition to a variable amount.
The latter has a maximum of 20.5 million euros, and Orenes will pay it to Jesús Franco, former owner of the company, if during the next 25 years he receives the tax credits generated by Recreativos Franco before the absorption, and which therefore corresponded to the acquired company. Those generated in the 2021 financial year were also included, and which had yet to be calculated at the date of formulation of the accounts.
The purchase of Recreativos Franco included a total of seven companies owned by it, from the online betting platform Wanabet to the Mexican subsidiary or its technology companies. In the 2021 accounts, Orenes does not include the Recreativos Franco business as only two days have elapsed since the definitive integration until the end of the year.
The accounts of the latter show a net loss of 45 million in 2021, which, added to the losses of previous years, caused its still owner, Jesús Franco, to have to contribute a total of 40 million to cover the accumulated losses via compensation of credits.
The accounts of Recreativos Franco explain that the integration with Orenes “will provide an improvement in our economic and financial situation, allowing us to face the present and future through synergies, joint actions and common strategies.”
Consulted by this newspaper, from Orenes it is explained that the price agreed by Recreativos Franco will vary “depending on future years”, which he hopes will be “very good in the coming years”. In addition, the acquisition is justified by its contribution to the “technological and digital transformation process of the group”, and by the fact of operating in the machine manufacturing segment, in which Orenes was not directly involved.
On the other hand, the Murcian company sealed last March a modification in the payment schedule of its syndicated loan, which it refinanced in 2019 for 233.25 million, to which it added two novations in 2020 and 2021, of 57.5 and 45 million , with ICO guarantee.
The objective is the “optimization of the financial structure” of the group, which allows “balancing the treasury needs of coming years”.
As of December 31, 2021, as its financial report shows, Orenes had to face a maturity of close to 63 million during the current year. As explained by the company, the rescheduling for 2022 amounts to 40 million and will allow it to face the growth investments planned for this year.” Last April, Orenes bought four gaming rooms in Madrid.
Recover the pre-Covid benefit, but not the income
Results. Orenes recorded a consolidated profit of 27.8 million euros in the 2021 financial year, exceeding the losses of almost 23 million caused by the pandemic, by keeping physical gaming venues closed for months. In addition, that result is slightly above the 25 million he earned in the year prior to Covid-19. What is yet to be recovered is revenue. These grew by 24% compared to 2020, reaching 503 million, a figure still 13% below that of 2019. The bingo, casino or game room business was still far from pre-pandemic levels. Yes, they have grown compared to then that of betting and online gaming, up to 151 million, and that of hospitality, up to 4.5.
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