In an unexpected move that surprised the country's gambling sector, the shareholders of Dreams, the second largest operator in the Chilean casino industry, began talks with Enjoy's creditors to merge both companies.
Antitrust experts warned that the merger, which would take place in the middle of a permit re-bidding process, requires a series of restrictions to succeed.
Enjoy confirmed that the casino's Creditors Commission reached a merger agreement with Sun Dreams, for which there was already an investment bank hired to advise them in this operation.
Enjoy's general manager, Rodrigo Larraín, said in a statement that "neither the company's board of directors, nor its administration knew of this background, nor do they have more information," for which -for now- it would not be possible to determine the probability or the impacts of the operation.
For its part, Sun Dreams also sent a communication to the Financial Market Commission (CMF) informing that its shareholder Nueva Inversiones Pacífico Sur Limitada held preliminary talks with certain creditors and potential future Enjoy shareholders.
According to the statement, this occurred "in order to explore a possible business combination of said company with Dreams SA, without an agreement having been reached to date in this regard, and whose materialization would also depend, in any case, on various regulatory and third-party approvals."
According to data from the Superintendency, based on 2019, this action would imply a concentration close to 76% of the market. This was explained by the head of the entity's Studies Unit, Rodrigo Ajenjo.
Francisco Agüero, director of the Center for Regulation and Competition at the University of Chile, explained that this agreement is given in the middle of a permit re-bidding process that will involve a series of requirements to be carried out.
Currently, Sun Dreams operates seven rooms in Chile: San Francisco de Mostazal (Sun Monticello), Temuco, Punta Arenas, Iquique and Puerto Varas. Enjoy, in turn, operates eight, plus one linked to a related company: Viña del Mar, Coquimbo, Antofagasta, San Antonio, Santiago, Los Angeles, Pucón, Puerto Varas and Chiloé.
In addition, both companies have an important international presence. Enjoy has two casinos outside of Chile, in Mendoza (Argentina) and Punta del Este (Uruguay). Dreams operates gaming venues in Panama City, Cartagena de Indias (Colombia); in Lima, Tacna and Cusco (Peru); and in Mendoza (Argentina).
Source: GMB
