Lotteries hire four banks for sell off

11/07/2013 00:00

Madrid.Spain's national lottery operator hired four banks for an initial public offering that may raise as much as 7 billion euros.
Sociedad Estatal Loterias y Apuestas del Estado mandated Credit Suisse AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and UBS AG (UBSN) for the sale of a 30 percent stake, valuing the company at as much as 21 billion euros, according to the people, who declined to be named because the information is private. A listing is expected to come as early as November, said the people.

If successful, it would be Spain's biggest IPO ever, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Europe's sovereign debt crisis from Greece to Portugal has reduced investors' appetite for IPOs in the region. In western Europe, at least 21 IPOs were delayed or pulled this year, the most since 2006, Bloomberg data show. Spain has had no successful IPOs this year, according to the data.