The French national lottery and gaming behemoth, La Française des Jeux (FDJ), has proposed an offer worth €2.8bn ($3.04bn, £2.39bn, SEK31.8bn) to acquire the total outstanding share capital of the Kindred Group.
The news about this historic takeover first broke out during the weekend, when the Wall Street Journal announced that Kindred was presented with an acquisition offer by the FDJ, with both the FDJ and Kindred confirming the news on the morning of January 22nd.
I am pleased to announce today the proposed acquisition of Kindred. Fully aligned with our strategy, it will give the Group a diversified and balanced profile, based on several pillars: the monopoly activities, mainly the lottery, on our French historical market and since November, in Ireland, with the acquisition of the Irish lottery operator PLI and online sports betting and gaming activities open to competition in Europe.
Stéphane Pallez – Chairwoman and CEO at FDJ
Moreover, FDJ reportedly offered €11.42 ($12.43, SEK130) in cash per share for each SDR (Swedish Depository Receipt) in Kindred. This offer is 24% higher than the €9.18 (SEK104.05) price per share of Kindred during the final trading day on the 19th of January.
Kindred stated that the price highlights the total value of the proposal, which is 10.9 times its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for the year 2023.
According to the latest updates, Kindred has “unanimously” proposed its shareholders to accept the offer, with the period of acceptance set to commence around or on the 20th of February and end on the 19th of November.
Additionally, five major shareholders from Kindred have decisively decided to support the offer by the FDJ, a group that jointly holds 27.9% of the total shares. These key shareholders are Premier Investissement, Corvex Management, Veralda Investment, Emmince Capital, and Nordea.
As per the closing condition of the deal, it is required that 90% of the shareholders in Kindred accept the proposal, that there will be no other party levelling an improved offer, and certain regulatory approvals.
The news that FDJ is set to acquire Kindred is preceded by yet another acquisition, more specifically of the Premier Lotteries Ireland back in November of 2023. More specifically, FDJ paid €380m to acquire Premier Lotteries Ireland, further strengthening its international position as a leading lottery and gaming operator.
