Announced as a success in late 2019, after two failed attempts, the Lotex concession is at risk of not going into operation. The winning consortium of the auction announced that it has decided to withdraw from the concession process after having requests not met by Caixa Econômica Federal and the government.
In a joint note released on Tuesday (6), the companies IGT (North American) and Scientific Games (British), which formed the consortium Estrela Instantânea, alleged lack of agreement for the distribution of the new lottery through Caixa’s network.
"Although we are fully prepared to comply with all the financial and non-financial conditions precedent of the concession contract, prudent capital management dictates that we withdraw from the process and reevaluate the business of implementing a lottery operations model in Brazil," they said.
The consortium said that if the government considers an extension of the deadline for Caixa to authorize and execute a distribution contract, they will evaluate "the possibility of re-engaging in the process."
In a note, the Ministry of Economy reported that, after two extensions, the consortium had a deadline until September 21 to prove full compliance with the conditions prior to signing the Lotex concession contract.
"At the end of this period, several conditions foreseen in the public notice were not fulfilled," stated the ministry, adding that the government and the BNDES "are adopting the measures foreseen in the public notice," informs the journalist Darlan Alvarenga of G1.
The BNDES informed, in a note, that it has already taken the appropriate measures provided for in the edict and that "it notified the winning consortium regarding the guarantee of the proposal, in the amount of R$ 25 million."
Sought by G1, the Special Secretariat of the Investment Partnerships Program (PPI), responsible for the government's concession and privatization project portfolio, did not comment on what measures will be taken to make the concession feasible. Caixa did not comment on the matter either.
Source: G1
