Houlihan Lokey Advises Waterland Private Equity and Napoleon Sports & Casino

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Waterland Fund V (Waterland) has sold its majority stake in Belgium-based NGG NV, the parent company of Napoleon Sports & Casino, to Romania-based Superbet Group (Superbet), a leading pan-European sports betting and gaming business. The acquisition by Superbet gives Napoleon Sports & Casino access to the scale and capabilities to grow faster in the broad and competitive European landscape. This transaction closed on September 2, 2021.

Building on a long heritage in Belgium, today Napoleon Sports & Casino is the leading Belgian gaming group offering a broad range of gaming products – both online and at selected street market locations. As the Belgian market leader in online entertainment and as a 100% Belgian company, Napoleon Sports & Casino takes full responsibility for ensuring sustainable entertainment online as well as in its grand casinos and arcades all over Belgium. Over the past six years, Napoleon Sports & Casino has been owned by the European private equity group Waterland, which acquired a majority stake in 2015. In this period, Napoleon Sports & Casino developed into the market reference in both online and offline gaming in Belgium. 

Founded in 2008, Superbet is a pan-European leading omnichannel sports betting and gaming operator with offices in Romania, the UK, Poland, Austria, Croatia, Serbia, Cyprus, and Malta. Today, the Superbet team consists of more than 4,000 people who are the major driving forces behind its success. In 2016, Superbet launched its online business with the purpose of offering the best-in-class, adrenaline-packed entertainment to its customers. In support of that, Superbet is investing continuously in developing proprietary technology, including a one-of-a-kind social network integrated in its app. Superbet’s recent expansion has been supported by a strategic investment of €175 million from the world’s largest private equity fund, The Blackstone Group.

Waterland is an independent European private equity investment group that supports companies in realising their growth ambitions. With substantial financial resources and committed industry expertise, Waterland enables its portfolio companies to achieve accelerated growth organically and through acquisitions. Waterland has offices in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, the UK, and Switzerland.

Napoleon Sports & Casino’s Belgian management team will remain in place, operating from Aalst, combining and sharing its own expertise with Superbet’s knowledge and resources. This new chapter will allow Napoleon Sports & Casino to expand its global reach without having to detach from its Belgian roots, which were established 40 years ago.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to Napoleon Sports & Casino and Waterland and assisted in marketing, structuring, and negotiating the transaction on their behalf. This deal highlights Houlihan Lokey’s transaction capabilities in the Benelux region and dedicated sector expertise within the gaming and sports betting vertical.