Allwyn Entertainment and Cohn Robbins Holding Corp (CHRC) have moved forward with their merger plans, which would result in the former securing a listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ‘declared effective’ Allwyn’s submission of a registration statement in connection with the amalgamation, which the respective first parties first outlined plans for back in January.

A multinational lottery operator based in the Czech Republic, Allwyn previously operated as the Sazka Group – rebranding earlier this year to Allwyn, the identity of its UK business – and is chaired by majority shareholder Karel Komárek, Founder of the KKCG Investment Group.

Allwyn’s primary goal via the merger and US listing is to ‘support growth’ for its international business, maintaining European holdings such as SAZKA (Czech Rep), OPAP (Greece and Cyprus), Lotteries Austria and Lotto ‘Gioco’ Italia, and most recently becoming the next 10 year steward of the UK’s National Lottery.

Commenting in January – when the merger plans were first disclosed – Komárek said: “Listing on the NYSE is the next chapter in Allwyn’s history and track record of shared success benefitting players, communities, governments and investors.

“We forecast the business delivering attractive revenue, profit and cash flow growth, creating attractive long-term value for investors. Going public positions Allwyn to expand its shared success to more markets, while enhancing capital access to fund opportunities for accelerated growth.

“KKCG has known for years that Allwyn is an amazing business, and I am very proud that global investors will have the opportunity to participate in its further growth.”

Should the merger be successful, the combined company’s Class B ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on the NYSE under the new ticker symbols ‘ALWN’ and ‘ALWYN.WS’.

CHRC is recommending that its shareholders approve all proposals for the merger, having scheduled an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) for 7 September, aiming to secure stakeholder support via a vote. 

The company has identified ‘attractive characteristics’ in the $300bn global lottery sector, including consumer participation across wide demographics, resiliency through market cycles and upside potential from increasing online penetration.

“CRHC furthermore believes Allwyn is well-positioned to grow through both organic and inorganic growth opportunities,” the company continued.

“Allwyn’s UK business, Allwyn Entertainment Ltd, was selected by the UK Gambling Commission as the preferred applicant in the competition for the fourth licence to operate the UK National Lottery.  

“If the licence is awarded, this will further expand Allwyn’s footprint as one of Europe’s largest and fastest growing lottery companies.”