In 2019, Apollo Funds acquired Gamenet and ushered in a new era for gaming in Italy. The company, which later acquired Lottomatica and rebranded, leveraged Apollo Private Equity’s gaming expertise to achieve greater scale in the Italian gaming market and execute a tailored value creation plan with reimagined product offerings and enhanced technology to improve the online customer experience.
Working closely with Lottomatica’s management, the Apollo Capital Solutions (ACS) team successfully positioned the company for IPO. When Apollo Funds fully exited the investment in 2025, Lottomatica’s value had grown to nearly eight times its size at the time of the original acquisition.
Guglielmo Angelozzi, Chairman and CEO, Lottomatica: Lottomatica is the largest gaming player in Italy. We do three things. We do online, we do sports betting, and we do gaming machines.
David Sambur, Partner, Co-Head of Equity: We spent years looking at Italian gaming companies and we developed a relationship with Guglielmo. We saw an opportunity in the Italian gaming space and to shift the business from predominantly offline to predominantly online gaming.
Rob Seminara, Partner, Head of Europe: One of the keys to almost any Apollo private equity investment is working with great management teams. Not just buying a company at a great valuation, but then taking that company, transforming it.
David Sambur: In the case of Lottomatica, that meant support in key areas of their business, like marketing, product, financial planning and analysis.
Guglielmo Angelozzi: We put together the retail and the online offer in a manner which brings convenience to the client. We have a portfolio of brands which allow us to target different type of customers. The responsible approach that we have in our relationship with our customer base.
Laurence Van Lancker, Chief Financial Officer and Deputy CEO, Lottomatica: It’s been a very symbiotic partnership with Apollo. They’ve helped us in all matters, going from strategy to finance operations. And they really tailored the approach to the Italian market, which was very well received by investors.
David Sambur: Through our ACS team, Apollo Capital Solutions, Apollo Funds are able to help portfolio companies manage the entire exit process, whether it's going public or selling to a strategic or selling to a sponsor.
Michael Shapiro, Partner, Apollo Capital Solutions: Despite the market volatility, the IPO was successful. From IPO to full exit, it took just 25 months. Lottomatica demonstrates what Apollo does best, executing with conviction in any market environment.
David Sambur: Through several acquisitions and substantial organic growth, by the time Apollo Funds exited their investment in Lottomatica, the business was almost eight times as large as the original acquisition.
Michael Shapiro: Apollo knows how to bring companies to market and stay with them throughout the entire realization, leaving them better positioned and with stronger potential outcomes.
Rob Seminara: We’re supporting the European economy when we help these companies achieve the next level through our capital.
Laurence Van Lancker: It’s been a phenomenal journey. Partnering together with Apollo, I think it’s been probably one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had professionally.
David Sambur: As a result of the efforts of the management team and the Apollo deal teams, I believe that Lottomatica ultimately became the most innovative gaming company in not only Italy, but all of Europe.
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