Entain not willing to budge on Enlabs £250m offer
Entain Plc’s board has been very adamant on not changing its offer worth SEK 40 (£3.50) of cash for each share. This all comes in its attempt to try and obtain Enlabs AB, the popular Baltic gambling group.
The company confirmed earlier today that it had lengthened its offer ‘acceptance period’ up until 18 March of 2021. The group also says that it is expecting a ‘deal settlement’ to kick off starting from the 30th of March, if the shareholders of Enlabs are willing to accept the £250 million cash offer.
Entain’s board said:
The Offer and the acquisition of Enlabs is conditional on, among other things, the receipt of all necessary regulatory, governmental or similar clearances, approvals and decisions, including from competition authorities and gaming authorities, in each case on terms which, in Entain’s opinion, are acceptable.
Entain currently stands by its initial offer and does not seem to be willing to change it anytime soon. This is all despite the fact that Alta Fox, the Enlabs US investor, has asked counterparts to refuse this bid, stating that it had ‘materially undervalued the company’. The Texas hedge fund also requested Entain to go over its offer carefully, and has also said that over 10% of Enlabs investors support this call.
The investor has also suggested a counter-offer, stating that the company should price Enlabs at a minimum amount of 55 SEK for each share, which leaves it with a value of around £340 million. Entain’s board also mentioned this morning that the ‘acceptance period’ was extended in order to allow the deal to carry out the important approvals from the authorities that are concerned.
Entain is backed up by Enlabs chairman Niklas Braathen in their offer worth £250 million. Braathen maintains about 20% of the company’s shareholdings thanks to Erlinghundra AB, the private investment firm.