Betr Entertainment Announces Improved Bid for PointsBet Takeover
Australian betting operator Betr Entertainment, which is often among the best sports betting sites, has announced an improved bid to acquire the remaining share in rival company PointsBet, which it does not already own.
The total bid is $360 million in Australian, which includes $260 million in cash and $100 million in Betr Entertainment shares. However, Betr faces a fierce challenge from a rival suitor, Japanese sports betting giant MIXI, which proposed a $350-million takeover bid earlier in April.
According to Betr, their deal would bring synergy returns of around $40 million annually, and they estimate the potential value to PointsBet shareholders of around $1.33 per share. Their proposal will now go through a three-week confirmatory due diligence process before the PointsBet Board and shareholders can considered it.
PointsBet still favors MIXI offer
Betr Entertainment currently owns 19.9% of PointsBet shares, making it the largest shareholder in the company. However, MIXI’s bid threatened to derail Betr’s plans, particularly after PointsBet issued a letter to its shareholders last month expressing concerns over the Betr offer.
In announcing the new offer, Betr is hoping to have addressed those concerns, and it's indicated the company will use its holding in PointsBet to oppose MIXI’s takeover attempts.
“Our offer represents a clearly superior offer for PointsBet shareholders to realize significant value," said Betr’s Chairman Matthew Tripp.
"We have fully addressed the concerns raised by PointsBet in its letter to shareholders on 3 April, including enhancing our funding certainty, synergy realisation, and due diligence timing," he continued. "Our proposal is supported by materially enhanced funding security, and as the largest shareholder in PointsBet, we now intend to vote our holding against the MIXI proposal."
PointsBet Canada moving to Hard Rock Digital
According to details released by Betr this week, the National Australia Bank will fund the cash part of the takeover, which has agreed to a $120-million acquisition financing facility, and a proposed deal with Seminole Hard Rock Digital to buy PointsBet’s Canadian assets.
Betr also plans to generate another $130 million through an underwritten equity raise.
The sale of PointsBet’s Canadian assets comes just a month after its U.S. businesses were finally sold to another betting operator, Fanatics, at a purchase price of $225 million. The purchase included all of PointsBet’s sports betting and iGaming entities, and it gave Fanatics the license to use the PointsBet platform.
