Swedish Authority Approves French Bid On Kindred
The takeover bid by La Française des Jeux (FDJ) for Kindred has been approved by the SFSA, the financial regulator in Sweden. The approval marks the next step in the takeover of the Swedish gambling company by the French lottery provider.
On Monday, February 19, FDJ published the official document with all information about the offer of approximately $4,38 for the acquisition of Kindred. The Kindred board had already unanimously recommended to the shareholders to accept the offer.
Key shareholders who own 27,9% of the shares in Kindred have already given the green light for the takeover. This includes Eminence Capital and Corvex Management. Corvex, Kindred’s largest shareholder, has also been pushing for a sale of Unibet’s parent company.
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Bid Approved
The Swedish Financial Market Supervisory Authority (SFSA) has approved FDJ’s offer, according to documents published last week on FDJ’s official website. FDJ will pay SEK 130 (NZ$ 20,32) per share, lifting the total value to $4,38 billion. The French lottery operator is expected to pay a 24% higher price per share compared to the value of the share at the time of the first bid. The offer opened on February 20 and runs for 39 weeks, closing on November 19, 2024. Kindred will still need to get additional approvals from regulators. In total, FDJ needs to buy 90% of all the shares that Kindred has for the deal to be completed.
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Extraordinary General Meeting In March
Kindred has put an Extraordinary General Meeting on the agenda for Friday, March 15. During the EGM 75% of the shareholders will need to vote in favour of the takeover. An earlier vote on February 16 did not come through as only 42.16% voted in favour of the deal, below the 75% threshold. FDJ now states that it has better hopes and assumes the acquisition will be completed by November 28, 2024. They add that they expect that all approvals will be given in the next months, potentially even accelerating the deal.
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About Kindred Group
Kindred Group is a major player in online gambling and enjoys a global presence. Kindred was established in 1997 and provides iGaming services to 30 million customers through nine different brands, operating across Europe, North America, and Oceania. With its headquarters in Sweden and offices in countries such as Malta, Gibraltar and the US, Kindred Group is stock listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm Large Cap. Their best known brand is Unibet, but they also own gambling sites like Bingo.com, Casinohuone, and Vlad Cazino. Unibet operates in New Zealand.
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