“CIRSA is severely undervalued,” Chairman Joaquim Agut has stated to investors of the heritage Spanish markets gambling group.
The message was relayed at the inaugural shareholders meeting of Grupo CIRSA, who in 2025 completed its first accounts on the Spanish Bolsa since executing its long-awaited IPO in July.
The meeting saw Agut announce the payment of a special €75m dividend to investors, equivalent to €0.45 per share and circa 35% of adjusted net profit of €118m accumulated on FY2025 accounts.
Last year was a momentous year for CIRSA, which managed to stamp its position as Spain’s biggest gambling firm by reporting a corporate income of €2.3bn, with record EBITDA results of €736m – a 7% increase compared to the previous year.
CIRSA victim of wider anxieties
Peak performance on financial results was set against the backdrop of a transformative IPO for Spanish gambling, as CIRSA debuted on the Spanish Bolsa at €15-per-share, taking a valuation of €2.5bn and landing in IBEX Top 50 Spanish businesses.
Yet despite its achievements, CIRSA share price has remained stagnant at the €13-to-€14 range, a condition that Agut believes severely undervalues the firm’s prospects.
Agut, who has served as Executive Chairman of CIRSA since the private equity acquisition by Blackstone in 2018, believes the current undervaluation reflects broader investor concerns around the gambling sector rather than CIRSA’s underlying performance.
As a listed gambling company, Agut noted that CIRSA has been exposed to persistent sector anxieties, stressing that “the company’s stock market performance does not reflect its operational reality” – a situation driven not by internal factors, but by the wider dynamics shaping global gambling markets.
He pointed specifically to “the emergence of predictive betting models in the United States and increased gambling taxes in the United Kingdom”, developments which he said have triggered widespread declines across listed gambling stocks since the start of 2026.
Proven player with undervalued strategy
Despite these pressures, Agut has maintained that CIRSA has consistently outperformed both market conditions and listed peers, sustaining a clear growth trajectory since 2018. He added that he remains confident in investors to ultimately recognise the group’s intrinsic value.
“The IPO allowed the company to reduce its financial burden while maintaining a high level of investment to support growth, alongside lower debt and the continuation of a strong shareholder return policy,” Agut continued.
As such, CIRSA has delivered on its strategic pledge to become the highest-valued Spanish gambling group, underpinned by a disciplined, value-led M&A strategy that continues to shape its expansion profile.
Growth has been driven by targeted acquisitions across core and emerging markets, with 17 deals completed across 2025 and early 2026, including four new casino assets in Peru, Casino Marrakech, and Spanish gaming machines distributor Comatel.
Under Agut’s tenure, CIRSA has executed more than 150 acquisitions, with management maintaining that each has been earnings accretive while strengthening the group’s footprint across Latin America, Africa and Southern Europe.
The strategy has positioned CIRSA as one of the most geographically diversified operators among European-listed gambling firms. These transactions reflect a clear focus on scalable assets capable of delivering immediate earnings contribution
“We have built a model where growth is both disciplined and repeatable,” Agut stated. “Our M&A strategy is focused on assets that complement our operational strengths and deliver sustainable value over the long term.”
All eyes on Blackstone
At present, Blackstone holds 74% of CIRSA’s share capital, while institutional investors account for 21%, and retail investors the remaining 5%.
In Spain, analysts continue to scrutinise how Blackstone will ultimately divest its majority stake. Addressing the recent sale of a 4% holding, Agut reiterated that such a move had already been outlined in the IPO prospectus, “so it should not surprise the market.”
Attention will now turn to Blackstone’s next steps and its positioning within global gambling equities – an asset class facing renewed pressure from macroeconomic headwinds, including rising energy costs and inflation certain to have deep impacts in Spain and Latin America.
Despite these external challenges, Agut remains confident that CIRSA can sustain its growth trajectory and outperform both domestic competitors and listed global peers
The investment case is further supported by analyst sentiment, as “14 banks covering the stock maintain “buy” recommendations and setting an average target price of €20.6 per share – almost 50% above current trading levels..
Agut concluded that “Cirsa has improved its financial profile with lower debt, reduced financing costs, and greater flexibility, while gaining institutional visibility at a time when the listed gambling sector has faced external turbulence”.
