French gaming company La Française des Jeux SA (FDJ) has made a €2.6 billion ($2.9 billion) all-cash offer for online rival Kindred Group, in a deal aimed at creating one of the largest online gambling companies in Europe.
In a statement on Monday, FDJ FDJ,
It said it was offering 130 Swedish krona for each Kindred share SE:KIND,
It represents a 24% premium to the closing price on January 19.
FDJ said the deal would create the second-largest operator in the gaming sector in Europe.
“In particular, this is expected to result in a more than 10% increase in dividends per share, starting from fiscal year 2025 to be paid in 2026,” the French company said, adding that the offer had been unanimously recommended by Kindred's board of directors. Members of the Board of Directors.
Kindred on Sunday confirmed a takeover bid by FDJ, saying its board had been evaluating options to “deliver shareholder value” since April 2023. The Wall Street Journal first reported the possibility of a deal between the two companies on Sunday.
Paris-based FDJ offers online sports betting and gambling, and operates the French National Lottery. In November, it acquired Premier Lotteries Ireland, which operates the Irish National Lottery.
Kindred, which is headquartered in Malta and traded on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, offers online gambling on nine brands in Europe, North America and Australia. In November, Kindred announced that it would exit the North American market by mid-2024 to focus on its core market of Europe.
The deal will give FDJ “a diversified and balanced portfolio, based on several pillars: monopolistic activities, especially lotteries, in our historic French market, and since November in Ireland, through the acquisition of Irish lottery operator PLI; : “Sports betting and online gaming activities are open to competition in Europe.”
The French group said that the combined company FDJ-Kindred will only operate in markets that have local regulation or with plans to regulate.
