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A new legal gaming giant is born. Francaise des Jeux SA launches a bid to buy Sweden’s Kindred Group Plc for 27.95 billion crowns ($2.7 billion) in a move that will further consolidate Europe’s online gaming industry.
The numbers of the new center
FDJ’s offer of 130 crowns per share in cash represents a 24% premium to Kindred’s closing price on Friday. The operation will be financed by the company’s internal liquidity and by a loan from BNP Paribas SA and Societe Generale SA. If approved, the acquisition will create one of Europe’s largest gambling groups with combined annual gaming revenues of approximately €8 billion. Through Kindred, FDJ will have access to 30 million customers across the online sports betting, casino and gaming segments. In November, the French group completed the acquisition of Ireland’s only lottery operator, PLI.
The yes of the major partners
Family shareholders Corvex Management LP, Premier Investissement SAS, Eminence Capital, Veralda Investment and Nordea Bank Abp – who together represent 27.9% of the Swedish company’s outstanding shares – accepted the offer. The company’s board of directors, which launched a strategic review in April, unanimously decided to recommend that shareholders accept the offer.
“The combination will result in a stronger strategic positioning and significant value creation for the benefit of our shareholders and stakeholders at large,” said Stéphane Pallez, president and CEO of FDJ.
Confirmation of the acquisition plan comes a day after The Wall Street Journal reported that investor Corvex Management had asked about a potential sale of Kindred, leading to FDJ’s offer