DUBLIN: Flutter Entertainment Plc agreed to buy The Stars Group Inc. in an all-share transaction that exploits opportunities in the U.S. after the Supreme Court legalized sports betting.
The deal values TSG at about 4.95 billion pounds ($6 billion) at an offer price of 17.2 pounds per share, according to Bloomberg calculations, a premium of about 40% to Tuesday’s closing share price.
Shareholders in TSG, which has a market capitalization of $4.4 billion, will receive 0.2253 new Flutter shares in exchange for each of their company’s shares, the companies said in a statement.
This is “a truly transformational deal for both the company and the industry,” Davy analysts Michael Mitchell and Jack O’Halloran said in a research note. “We see strong strategic merit to the transaction. It improves Flutter’s position in key growth markets.”
Flutter shares rose as much as 17%. The deal will achieve pre-tax synergies of about 140 million pounds a year, the statement said.
Ireland’s Flutter, formerly known as Paddy Power, operates in the U.S. through a media relationship with Fox Sports and other brands, while Canada’s TSG also agreed to an American casino partnership over the summer.
Buying TSG will “ensure we are ideally positioned to take advantage of the exciting opportunity in the U.S.,” Flutter CEO Peter Jackson said in the statement. “The combination represents a great opportunity to deliver a step change in our presence in international markets.”
The new group would have had revenue of 3.8 billion pounds last year, making it the world’s biggest online betting and gaming company, the statement said. Flutter’s chairman, chief executive officer and chief financial officer will assume the same roles in the new group. – Bloomberg