Nov 6 (Reuters) - French media group Banijay

posted a 10% rise in nine-month profits on Thursday, driven by

its betting division as it prepares to close a major acquisition

that will double its gaming business.

The company, which produces TV shows including "Big Brother"

and owns betting platform Betclic reported earnings before

interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of 597

million euros ($696.22 million) for the first nine months of

2025, while revenue rose 4% to 3.22 billion euros.

While Banijay Gaming accounts for only about one-third of

group revenue, it contributes roughly half of profitability,

highlighting the lucrative nature of the betting business

compared to content production.

Gaming EBITDA rose 12.9% to 301 million euros with a margin

of 26.6%, while entertainment EBITDA increased 6.7% to 303

million euros with a 14.5% margin.

Gaming revenue rose 8.5% to 1.13 billion euros despite a

tough comparison to 2024's Olympics and European football

championships.

Entertainment revenue edged up 1.7% to 2.09 billion euros,

boosted by the success of "House of Guinness" on Netflix ( NFLX ), which

ranked third among English-language series globally in its first

week.

Last week, Banijay announced it would acquire a majority

stake in Germany's Tipico from private equity firm CVC in a deal

valuing the betting company at 4.6 billion euros.

CEO François Riahi said during a press call the transaction

would create a combined entity with 6.5 million active players

and pro forma 2024 revenue of 3 billion euros. After closing,

Banijay Gaming will lead in France, Germany and Poland.

Banijay lowered its full-year revenue growth guidance to

reflect the sports year and content delivery delays, now

expecting low-single digit growth for entertainment and around

10% for gaming, down from mid-single digit and mid-teens

respectively, while confirming its profit and cash conversion

targets.

($1 = 0.8575 euros)