Australian online bookmaker PointsBet has confirmed that it is opening negotiations with DraftKings over the sale of its US operations.
Reports over the weekend revealed that DraftKings was prepared to outbid Fanatics in a deal to acquire PointsBet’s US business. PointsBet then announced that it had set a deadline of Tuesday for DraftKings to make a formal bid. The company confirmed to its investors this morning (Monday) that DraftKings had made a formal offer of $195 million to complete the deal.
According to the release, PointsBet and its legal and financial advisers have agreed that the DraftKings offer could ‘lead to a Superior Proposal’ and that it will now engage directly with the US sports betting giant. No timeline has been given for the discussions or when the deal will be closed. However, the company will hold an extraordinary general meeting on June 30th and has recommended that shareholders vote in favour of the DraftKings proposal.
News of the deal comes as a surprise given that PointsBet itself had previously announced that the sale of the business to Fanatics had been agreed for a fee of $150 million.
PointsBet put its US business up for sale in April of this year despite recording positive results of $120 million in revenue for Q3 and Q4 of 2022. This represented a 28% year-on-year increase. However, the company’s directors felt that further growth was difficult given that PointsBet was still only seventh in terms of market share in the United States.
Ciaran has been working within the Gambling Industry as a deep analyst since 2019. His deep knowledge and understanding of all the gambling regulations, and processes makes him a true asset, and an always valuable point of view for Gambling Industry News, allowing us to cover every topics from a brand new perspective.