Sports betting giant Entain‘s shares tumbled as much as 13% on Thursday after U.S-based MGM Resorts International said it had “moved on” from pursuing an offer for the British gambling firm.
MGM Chief Executive William Hornbuckle said on Wednesday that while MGM remains focused on online sportsbook BetMGM, its joint venture with Entain, the company saw great potential in expanding LeoVegas, a Swedish online gaming company it purchased last year.
Entain had rejected a takeover approach worth roughly $11 billion from MGM back in 2021. The offer was roundly shot down by shareholders, more than half of whom were institutional investors including money managers Capital Group, Janus Henderson and Abrdn.
However, as of late, there has been market chatter about another attempt from the casino operator to buy Entain or its North American operations. But MGM’s CEO has now rejected the rumors.
“So, for now, the answer is no, not within Entain,” Hornbuckle said, as reported by Reuters. “We’re going to go down our own direction as we begin to allocate capital.”
One top-ten Entain shareholder said they had assumed the MGM bid was an “inevitability” as the US casino operator sought to take full control of the joint venture, reports Financial Times. “Gambling review, rubber stamp, box tick, bid, give me money,” is how they said they had hoped the process would go.
Analysts had predicted MGM could have upped the offer and offered cash following positive share price moves, the collapse in the value of sterling against the dollar, as well as a property sale since the original takeover bid. The top-ten shareholder said they had been hoping for up to £20 a share, further adds FT.
Entain’s shares fell as much as 13% to a more-than-one-month low of 1365.5 pence in morning trade. Earlier this month, the company said it would end its financial support for BetMGM once that business turns profitable.
The announcement came as the company shared its financial results for the last quarter of 2022, posting a new quarterly record for both online net gaming revenue and active customers. The group also posted an update for the entire financial year of 2022, for which it expects its core profit to be between £985 million and £995 million ($1.21 billion – $1.23 billion), up from an earlier forecast of between £925 million and £975 million.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2023/02/09/66043-entain-39s-shares-tumble-after-mgm-says-it-has-34moved-on-34-from-pursuing-a-buyout-offer
