(Reuters) – FDJ launched a takeover bid for the online gaming group Kindred Group on Monday, an operation at the end of which the French group aims to become the second European number in the sector.
FDJ says it is offering 130 Swedish crowns per share, valuing Kindred at 2.6 billion euros. This offer represents a 24% premium on Kindred’s closing price on January 19.
Kindred’s board of directors unanimously recommended that shareholders accept the offer, the company said in a separate statement.
“The board believes that the terms of the offer recognize Kindred’s long-term growth prospects, taking into account the risks and uncertainties associated with achieving those prospects,” the company said.
“(This operation) will result in a strengthened strategic positioning and significant value creation for the benefit of our shareholders and all of the group’s stakeholders,” said Stéphane Pallez, CEO of FDJ in a press release.
FDJ, whose business includes lotteries and scratch games and in which the French state has a 20% stake, said the acquisition would boost its profits and result in a more than 10% increase in its dividend. from that paid for the 2025 financial year.
(Written by Sudip Kar-Gupta in Paris, with contributions from Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen; French version Nicolas Delame and Diana Mandiá)
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