PointsBet leaders have already urged the company’s shareholders to accept the acquisition offer from Japanese entertainment giant Mixi. Now, the company has improved its bid.

Mixi has raised its offer from $353 million AUD to $403 million AUD in light of a competing proposal from PointsBet’s fellow Australian bookmaker Betr.

That constitutes an increased cash consideration of $1.20 AUD per share, up 13.2% from the initial offer of $1.06 AUD. The Australian Financial Review reported this week that Mixi has told PointsBet it is willing to pursue an off-market takeover bid in the event that PointsBet investors do not approve the offer.

PointsBet did not offer a comment when reached by Canadian Gaming Business.

Even Mixi’s original offer, lodged in February, was recommended by the PointsBet board in what the latter company called the absence of “a superior proposal.” Part of PointsBet’s objections to Betr’s competing offer, which is worth around $360 million AUD, has been that Betr has offered a mixture of cash and scrip, wherein shares are offered partly or wholly in place of cash.

However, last month, PointsBet intimated that the latest non-binding acquisition offer from Betr “could reasonably be expected to lead to a ‘superior proposal’” when compared to Mixi’s offer.

In light of that statement, the preferred offer from Mixi just got even better.

After a halt in trading on Tuesday, PointsBet’s share price rose over 10% on Wednesday to $1.20 AUD upon news of the improved bid.

Betr owns 20% of PointsBet

Complicating matters, though, is the fact that Betr now owns 19.9% of PointsBet after buying some shareholders’ equity earlier this year. That firm has said it will undertake an equity raising of $130 million AUD to partially fund both the acquisition and a buyout of the remaining 80.1% of shares.

PointsBet and Betr have been engaged in due diligence since May.

Betr says its proposed offer would drive $40 million AUD in cost synergies for a combined PointsBet and Betr, fueled by brand unity and a shared app and technology platform.

PointsBet would need 50.1% acceptance from shareholders to accept the Mixi bid. Unsurprisingly, Betr Chair Matthew Tripp has stated publicly that the company will vote all of its shares against approving Mixi’s offer.

Between a Hard Rock and a hard place?

PointsBet offers online sports betting in both its native Australia and Ontario’s regulated market. In the Canadian province, it also operates online casino gaming. Executives such as CEO Sam Swanell and its Canadian business chief Scott Vanderwel have repeatedly said the company intends to step into a regulated Alberta iGaming market when that province opens its doors.

An intriguing subplot is that Betr’s bid includes selling certain PointsBet Canada assets to Hard Rock Digital for $29.6 million USD. Tripp said those assets largely comprise a player database.

None of the parties involved commented on that aspect of the offer when asked by CGB. As of early May, Hard Rock Digital had not applied for registration with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).

If PointsBet ultimately accepts Mixi’s offer, that point will be moot.

To allow shareholders to consider the new Mixi proposal, PointsBet has pushed back a scheduled meeting to discuss the bids from June 12 to June 25.