MIXI has completed its off-market takeover of PointsBet, ending a protracted acquisition saga.
The offer from the Japanese company’s Australian subsidiary closed on Sept. 12 with MIXI Australia holding 66.43% of PointsBet Holdings Ltd. shares.
After months of back-and-forth between competing offers from MIXI and PointsBet’s fellow Australian sportsbook betr (formerly BlueBet), MIXI now holds a two-thirds controlling stake in the operator, which offers sports betting in its home country and online sports betting and casino in Ontario. betr still owns around 20% of PointsBet and voted its entire shareholding against MIXI’s takeover.
betr had attempted to beat MIXI to the punch with an offer made up of share equivalents rather than cash, but PointsBet’s board recommended MIXI’s proposals at every turn over the last few months. MIXI’s bid valued PointsBet at AU$1.25 (C$1.15) in cash per share, driven up from an initial price of AUD$1.06 per share by betr’s competition.
MIXI previously failed to seal the deal in a shareholder vote in June, when the final shareholder approval rate of around 70% fell short of the required majority. That led to MIXI moving its takeover bid off-market.
MIXI Australia added in a statement last week that while betr leaders have suggested there is scope for “potential synergy realization” through a collaboration with a MIXI-controlled PointsBet, MIXI does not intend to collaborate with betr. What will happen to betr’s 20% shareholding now that MIXI is in control of PointsBet is unclear.
PointsBet CEO Sam Swanell previously criticized betr’s operating model and noted that significant existing overlap between PointsBet and betr customers meant that the benefits of a merger of the two sportsbooks would have been limited.
Now, as PointsBet looks to continue its strong growth in the Ontario online casino market, as well as awaiting entry into Alberta’s upcoming market, it will be led forward by MIXI. While betr had disclosed plans to sell PointsBet Canada operations to Hard Rock Digital for around C$40 million if they took control of PointsBet, MIXI has not hinted at any changes related to PointsBet Canada.
