France's FDJ in talks to acquire Kindred for $2.5 billion -WSJ (updated)
21/01/2024 19:41
(Adds details from the report and background, paragraph 2
onwards)
Jan 21 (Reuters) -
French group La Francaise des Jeux FDJ.PA is in talks to
acquire online gaming company Kindred Group KINDsdb.ST for
around $2.5 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday,
citing people familiar with the matter.
A deal could be announced as soon as Monday, assuming talks
don’t break down, the report added.
FDJ and Kindred group did not respond immediately to a
Reuters request for comment.
In November, FDJ completed the acquisition of Ireland’s
national lottery operator, Premier Lotteries Ireland, for an
enterprise value of 350 million euros ($381.40 million).
New York-based hedge fund Corvex Management has been pushing
Kindred's board since 2022 to hire a financial adviser to look
at strategic alternatives, including the potential value that
could be achieved via a sale or a business combination.
($1 = 0.9177 euros)
(Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh and Harshita Meenaktshi in
Bengaluru; editing by Deepa Babington and Leslie Adler)
((Kanjyik.Ghosh@thomsonreuters.com;))