FDJ aims to close Kindred acquisition ahead of schedule in October

La Française des Jeux (FDJ) has brought forward the acceptance period for its acquisition of Kindred Group to 2 October after securing all necessary regulatory approvals for the deal.

FDJ tabled a €2.45bn (£2.07bn/$2.72bn) bid to acquire Kindred back in January. At the time, it set an acceptance period of through to 19 November this year – after which the offer would expire.

However, FDJ this week was granted approval by France’s competition authority l’Autorité de la Concurrence. This was the final regulatory approval required in order for FDJ to proceed with the acquisition.

As such, FDJ is shortening the acceptance period, with a decision now due by 2 October.  

This is despite a requirement to satisfy other conditions. These include acceptance that FDJ becomes the owner of more than 90% of the total number of shares in Kindred. 

So far, five major shareholders have made irrevocable commitments to tender their Swedish Depository Receipts to the offer. These include Corvex Management, Premier Investissement SAS, Eminence Capital, Nordea and Veralda, with the latter selling a 1.11% share directly to FDJ back in March. 

FDJ will announce the result of the offer on or around 3 October. Should the deal go through as expected, settlement and delivery for Kindred shareholders will take place around 11 October.

FDJ edging closer to creating “European gaming champion”
As announced in January, FDJ will be paying €2.45bn to acquire Kindred. At the time, it said the combination would create a “European gaming champion” with stronger revenue and earnings growth.

FDJ expects the purchase to create value for its own shareholders, including more than 10% accretion in dividend per share. This will start from the 2025 financial year and be paid in 2026.

Kindred has also “unanimously” recommended its shareholders accept the offer. CEO Nils Andén said the deal will accelerate the delivery of long-term strategic projects, as well as speed up its path towards 100% locally regulated revenue.

Should the acquisition complete, it would extend FDJ’s reach further outside its traditional lottery offering. In recent time, FDJ has completed a series of deals to support this strategy.

These include acquiring online horse racing betting operator ZEturf for €175.0m in October last year. In addition, it purchased Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI) for €350.0m just a few weeks later.