Could MGM Resorts make another bid for Entain?
There’s speculation that MGM Resorts may offer up to £10bn for Entain, the UK-based owner of Ladbrokes, as the restriction on making another bid expires.
UK.- Entain, the UK-based owner of the bookmaker Ladbrokes, is braced for another potential offer from its US casino partner MGM Resorts International.
MGM Resorts made an all-share £8bn offer for Entain in January. After that offer was rebuffed, it’s been restricted from making another approach under Takeover Panel rules, which prevented follow-up offers for six months.
However, that restriction ends today (July 19). There’s now an expectation now that MGM Resorts may come back with an offer of up to £10bn.
MGM owns the MGM Grand, Park MGM and operates the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas. It partnered with Entain, which also owns Coral, Gala Bingo and Sportingbet, in 2018 to launch the joint sportsbook venture BetMGM in order to benefit from the UK company’s sports betting experience as the US’s licensed online betting market rapidly expands.
MGM Resorts’ bid for Ladbrokes came after US rival Caesars Entertainment agreed to buy UK bookmaker William Hill for $3.7bn (£2.9bn) last year. Its bid was seen as an attempt to emulate the success of a US casino company buying up a British sportsbook partner.
However, Entain said that MGM’s offer of £13.83 per share significantly undervalued the company. MGM declined to come back with another offer at that time, causing Entain’s share price to fall.
On Friday, the London-listed company’s shares closed at £18.21.
Entain’s move for William Hill’s European business
Meanwhile, Entain’s CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen, who took over in January, has said that the company may make a bid for at least part of William Hill’s European business, which Caesar’s has put up for sale following its acquisition of the UK bookmaker.
Those assets include William Hill’s UK retail betting shops. Other potential buyers include Ireland’s BoyleSports, 888, Advent International and Apollo Global.
