US sports betting group DraftKings has offered to pay £16.4 billion (about $22.4 billion) for London-listed rival Entain (formerly GVC Holdings), dwarfing an earlier £8 billion bid from casino operator MGM. Including debt, the deal would have a total value of about $25 billion.
Entain said DraftKings has made two offers to acquire the company, which is the owner of UK bookmaker Ladbrokes. The first approach—a share-and-cash offer of £25 a share—was rejected, but the board said it would “carefully consider” the latest offer of £28 a share, a 46.2% premium to Entain’s closing price on Monday.
MGM abandoned its efforts to acquire Entain in January after its £8 billion offer was rejected, with Entain arguing it undervalued the company. The pair have an equal stake in a US sports betting platform, BetMGM, set up as a joint venture in 2018. In a statement responding to DraftKings’ bid, MGM argued that, because of the JV, any deal whereby Entain or its affiliates own a competing business in the US would need MGM’s consent. The casino operator added that it would look to take full control of BetMGM.
The bid for Entain comes just over a month after it was reported that DraftKings, which went public via a reverse merger last year, agreed to purchase Golden Nugget‘s online gaming business for $1.56 billion.
Featured image by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images
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