FDJ, or Française des Jeux, is the operator of France’s national lottery games that was owned by the French government until 2018.
The board of directors at Kindred, a Swedish online gaming and betting company, has recommended to its shareholders to accept a more than $2.8bn bid from French gaming giant FDJ to acquire the company.
In a statement published today (22 January), the Nasdaq Stockholm-listed company’s board unanimously recommended the FDJ acquisition offer to its shareholders with the aim to create a “European gaming champion”.
The price represents a premium of 24pc over the closing price of Kindred shares as of 19 January and the board said the terms of the offer recognise Kindred’s “long-term growth prospects, taking into account the risks and uncertainties associated with the realisation of those prospects”.
“I believe that combining with FDJ, Kindred can accelerate the delivery of long-term strategic projects, continue to grow in core markets and provide a trusted source of entertainment to customers,” said Nils Andén, CEO of Kindred.
“It will also speed up our path towards 100pc locally regulated revenue. I’m excited to bring Kindred’s extensive experience and know-how into FDJ’s organisation, contributing to the development of a leading online gaming business.”
FDJ, or Française des Jeux, is the operator of France’s national lottery games that was owned by the French government until 2018. If the acquisition goes through, FDJ believes the combined business will be Europe’s second-largest operator in the gaming sector.
“Fully aligned with our strategy, [the acquisition] will give the group a diversified and balanced profile, based on several pillars: the monopoly activities, mainly the lottery, on our French historical market and, since November, in Ireland, with the acquisition of the Irish lottery operator PLI; and online sports betting and gaming activities open to competition in Europe,” said Stéphane Pallez, CEO and chair of FDJ.
According to Pallez, FDJ and Kindred are “highly complementary” because of their respective histories, strengths and values.
“I will be delighted to welcome Kindred’s management team and many talented individuals into the combined group following this transaction. The combination will result in a stronger strategic positioning and significant value creation for the benefit of our shareholders and broader stakeholders.”
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