ZEAL Network acknowledges yesterday’s statement by Lottoland Holdings, the second lottery organizer, of the planned public takeover bid by ZEAL for Lotto24 AG and the announcement made by Lottoland January 2019 to submit an unspecified offer for unspecified assets of the ZEAL Group.

Since announcing the planned acquisition of Lotto24 seven weeks ago, ZEAL has received no proposals for alternative transactions. ZEAL is still ready to discuss serious alternatives to the proposed transaction by January 18, 2019. On that day, the Extraordinary General Meeting of the Company will take place as planned.

In the opinion of ZEAL, Lottoland intends with its public statements to disturb the planned takeover of Lotto24 and to spread uncertainty. In view of Lottoland’s obvious position as a direct competitor, ZEAL recommends that its shareholders treat the company’s statements with due skepticism.

ZEAL also recommends that its shareholders consider the information contained in the sent shareholder circular and the convening of the Annual General Meeting contained therein when considering the vote in the Annual General Meeting. The documents are also available on the Internet at www.zeal-angebot.com.

Dr. Helmut Becker, CEO of ZEAL, commented: “We strongly believe that our proposal to reunite ZEAL and Lotto24 has the most compelling strategic logic among the alternatives we consider, providing the best opportunity for sustainable growth, and the greatest value for growth ZEAL shareholders succeed, and the strong resistance of a rival secondary lottery broadcaster is a clear and compelling indication that our transaction is the best way for our company and our shareholders. “