FDJ brings forward acceptance deadline for Kindred Group offer
Expiry of acceptance period on public offer jumps forward to 2 October from 19 November after the French Competition Authority gave the green light for the £2.1bn transaction to be completed
La Française des Jeux (FDJ) is hoping to accelerate its acquisition of Kindred Group by bringing forward its public offer deadline by more than a month.
The French operator has rescheduled the expiry date of the acceptance period to 2 October, more than a month earlier than its original deadline of 19 November.
FDJ said it will then announce the results of the offer on 3 October at the close of market, with payment transferring to Kindred shareholders by 11 October, should the offer be approved by the Unibet parent company’s shareholders.
FDJ initially submitted its £2.1bn offer to acquire Kindred back in January, which would see the French firm obtain 90% of Kindred’s total shares subject to other closing conditions being met.
The public tender offer document was published on 19 February, with supplements made public on 25 April and 25 July.
So far, five Kindred shareholders – Corvex Management LP, Premier Investissement SAS, Eminence Capital, Nordea and Veralda – have committed to selling their shares to FDJ.
The quintet represents 26.7% of Kindred’s outstanding Swedish depository receipts, with FDJ noting the group has made an “revocable commitment” to back the transaction.
The French operator has also already acquired 1.11% of Kindred’s outstanding shares directly from Veralda, doing so back in March.
The acceleration in the timeline comes after the French national competition regulator gave its backing to the deal, should FDJ adhere to certain flagged risks.
Sign off from the l’Autorité de la concurrence was FDJ’s last remaining stumbling block in the Kindred deal, after it formally informed the authority of its takeover intentions in May.
The regulator had expressed concerns Kindred could be commercially linked to FDJ’s existing monopoly operations should the acquisition be completed.
FDJ counter-argued that even with the addition of Kindred, it would still only be the third-largest betting company in France behind fellow operators Betclic and Winamax.
The firm also shut down suggestions it could fold Kindred’s Unibet brand in France by way of a compromise over concerns of the possible creation of a monopoly.
Furthermore, FDJ made a commitment to separate its lottery arm from its sports betting division, within which Kindred would sit.
Satisfied that initial concerns have been assuaged, l’Autorité de la concurrence gave its final sign off last week, allowing the takeover to move forward.