FDJ receives regulatory approval from Sweden’s financial authority to move forward with its acquisition of Kindred Group. The green light marks a significant step in the consolidation process within the gaming industry.
The Stockholm-listed operator receives approval from the Swedish Financial Market Supervisory Authority (SFSA) for FDJ’s offer document.
The public offer is set to commence on February 20 and will run for 39 weeks. For the compulsory purchases of its share capital, Kindred requires approval for changes to its statutes.
To address this, the Unibet operator has scheduled an Extraordinary General Meeting on March 15 to amend its articles accordingly. This comes as the second attempt at securing the required changes, following the initial vote on February 16, where shareholders representing only 42.16% of the share capital voted in favor, falling below the required 75% threshold.
The success of the deal is contingent on Kindred obtaining other necessary regulatory approvals. FDJ must acquire 90% of Kindred’s total capital for the transaction to proceed. The French lottery giant is offering SEK 130 (€11.57) per share, valuing the company at approximately €2.6bn.
Kindred’s board has unanimously recommended that shareholders accept the offer.
Thus far, the agreement has garnered approval from several Kindred shareholders, constituting 27.9% of the company’s total capital. Notable investors such as Corvex Management, Eminence Capital, Premier Investissement SAS, Veralda Investment, and Nordea have all expressed their support.
Corvex Management, being the largest shareholder, has played a pivotal role in advocating for Kindred to pursue a sale. Following a successful campaign, the fund secured a board seat for one of its partners, James H. Gemmel. This achievement came after proposing in May 2022 that the business explore a full sale.
Corvex mentioned in a statement at the time:
Given recent developments, we believe the Kindred board should immediately retain a leading, global financial adviser to evaluate strategic alternatives, including the potential value that could be achieved through a sale or business combination.
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