Poland’s Sports Betting Scion Wants to Wager on Warsaw Stocks

(Bloomberg) -- The owners of Poland’s biggest sports betting company want to use some of the 1.08 billion zloty ($266 million) raised from the firm’s initial public offering to wager on Warsaw-listed stocks. 

The Juroszek family last week successfully sold a 30% stake in STS Holding SA. Together with dividends from their Atal SA home building business, the money will fund an investment vehicle that will buy “large” stakes in companies with high dividend-paying and growth potential, STS Chief Executive Officer Mateusz Juroszek said.

Juroszek, 34, has spent the past decade helping his father, a real estate mogul, turn STS into a company with almost 50% market share and a strong web presence. Now, just days before the company is set to start trading in Warsaw, Juroszek is looking where to put the family’s money next.

“We want to invest strongly on the Warsaw Stock Exchange because we believe in good prospects for the Polish economy and local stocks,” he said in a phone interview. The family office will look for opportunities in tech, e-commerce and real estate sectors. Polish stocks will make up some 20% to 30% of the portfolio, Juroszek said. 

It’s not going to happen overnight. Juroszek predicts that it may take him as long as five years to set up a fully-fledged investment vehicle. The family already owns 10% stakes in asset managers Quercus TFI SA and Skarbiec Holding SA. 

Allegro Fan

One company, where Juroszek sees value is Allegro.eu SA, Poland’s biggest e-commerce platform. Its stock has plunged 56% this year after Amazon Inc. entered the Polish market. Juroszek believes Allegro is still a vital part of the local “internet culture” and should remain the market leader for years.

Apart from investments in Warsaw stocks, the family is also looking for opportunities abroad, including in the U.S., where sports betting deregulation in 2018 propelled the industry. They already own stakes in online gambling and betting companies including Better Collective A/S, Flutter Entertainment Plc and Evolution AB. 

The IPO made the sports-betting company twice as valuable as Atal, the family’s crown jewel and the third biggest home-builder in Poland. STS has “no debt” and may proceed with mid-sized takeover deals without reducing the dividend, Juroszek said.

“For STS we look for targets in central and eastern Europe, but we don’t have anything precise on the radar, as have selective and steady approach.” he said.

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