Sky Bet backs Sci Games-NYX deal
UK bookmaker to sell its two million shares in NYX, hailing the “great value” of the deal
Scientific Games’ bid to acquire NYX has cleared another hurdle, after shareholder and NYX sports betting customer, Sky Betting & Gaming, approved the deal.
Sky Bet said Friday it would sell its approximate 2% stake in the business, or around two million shares, for CAD $2.40 per share.
“We believe that the acquisition of NYX by Scientific Games delivers great value for us as a shareholder in NYX, and we look forward to continuing to work with a combined Scientific Games and NYX as more jurisdictions around the world look to legalize sports betting and online gaming” said SkyBet CEO Richard Flint.
The path to obtaining Sky Bet’s approval was significantly smoother than negotiations with William Hill, which invested in NYX at the same time as Sky and is also an OpenBet customer.
However, Sky Bet does not have designs on the US sports betting market, which was one of the main sticking points in Hills threatening to block the deal, until recently.
Scientific Games and NYX today also announced that Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. and Glass Lewis & Co., two leading independent proxy advisory firms, have recommended that NYX shareholders approve the Acquisition.
The vote will go ahead on December 20 in Las Vegas, with all major hurdles to approval now seemingly cleared.