The board of Australian gaming operator PointsBet has once again rejected a revised takeover bid from rival suitor Betr Entertainment, reaffirming its support for a competing offer from the Japanese entertainment company, Mixi.
The decision comes despite Betr increasing its per-share offer in an attempt to sway the PointsBet board and its shareholders.
On Wednesday, Betr Entertainment elevated its takeover bid for its fellow Australian operator from AU1.22toAU1.35 per share. On the surface, this new offer appears more lucrative than the existing AU$1.20 per share proposal from Mixi, which the PointsBet board has already endorsed.
However, in a firm rebuttal, PointsBet’s board has outright rejected Betr’s latest advance, determining that the proposal remains “materially inferior” to the one from Mixi.
The core of the issue lies not in the share price but in the structure and perceived value of the deal. Betr’s proposal is a scrip-based offer, meaning payment would be made in Betr’s own shares rather than cash.
This has led the PointsBet board to scrutinize the underlying health and future potential of Betr’s business. In an official statement, PointsBet reiterated its significant doubts, voicing concerns about what it “regards as a material overstatement by betr of the net synergy potential associated with the transaction.”
The board stated that it has conducted due diligence and maintains “concerns that PointsBet has regarding Betr’s existing business.”
This lack of confidence in Betr’s valuation and the promised synergies of a merger has been a consistent roadblock. PointsBet concluded that, in the context of a share-based acquisition, Betr’s offer represents an “inadequate outcome for PointsBet shareholders.” \As it stands, Mixi remains the preferred bidder, and Betr’s hopes of acquiring its rival appear to have been definitively stalled once more.
