NetEnt subject of €1.8bn Takeover Attempt by Evolution Gaming
NetEnt Board recommends deal to their shareholders which will see Evolution own 90% of the Swedish iGaming Giant
Quite literally shocking news coming out of Sweden this morning, after NetEnt the Swedish casino game developer and creator issued a statement to the Swedish Stock Exchange. With the statement confirming the details of the proposed takeover from Evolution Gaming and in turn recommending that their shareholders accept.
The Offer values each share in NetEnt to SEK 79.93 and all shares in NetEnt to approximately SEK 19.6 billion – €1.86bn ( based on closing prices on 23 June 2020 and 33,660,000 shares of series A and 212,798,035 shares of series B in NetEnt, less 1,000,000 B-shares owned by the Company. )
The recommendation made by NetEnt in respect of the offer from Evolution Gaming which can be read in full here, reads: “In the board’s opinion, NetEnt has a proven and well-defined strategy going forward. However, the board views a combination of NetEnt and Evolution Gaming as positive and believes it to be strategically sound, and the share consideration allows the Company’s shareholders to take part of the combined accelerated growth story and combination benefits.”
The combination of NetEnt and Evolution Gaming would create a leading B2B provider in online casino. The board believes there are a number of strategic benefits to NetEnt from combining its operations with Evolution Gaming.”
The acceptance period for the Offer is expected to commence on or around 17 August 2020 and expire on or around 26 October 2020, subject to any extensions. Evolution Gaming has stated that it will not increase the Offer. Accordingly, the price in the Offer is final under the Takeover Rules.
