France’s FDJ Takes Out Syndicated Loan to Pay for its Exclusive Lottery and Betting Rights

France’s leading gaming operator La Française des Jeux (FDJ) has taken out a €380 million syndicated loan to finance payment to the French state of the financial consideration to secure its exclusive 25-year rights to operate lottery games as well as online and sports betting.

Under the terms of the “PACTE Act” enacted on 23 May 2019, the Ordinance of 2 October 2019 reforming the regulation of gaming set the period during which FDJ will retain its exclusive rights at 25 years and stipulated that the financial consideration must be paid by 30 June 2020. The amount of this consideration was set at €380 million in the schedule of conditions approved by the Decree of 17 October 2019.

FDJ took out a €380 million floating-rate syndicated loan, repayable on a straight-line basis over 20 years, from five French banks. The financing was coordinated by Caisse d’Epargne Ile de France as Joint Mandated Arranger and Agent, with BRED, Caisse d’Epargne Hauts de France, Caisse Régionale de Crédit Agricole Mutuel de Paris et d’Ile de France and Crédit Lyonnais acting as Joint Mandated Arrangers.