DraftKings has entered the race to purchase the US assets of sportsbook operator PointsBet. It announced on Friday that it submitted an all-cash bid of $195m to the Australia-based company’s CEO and non-executive chairman.
Fanatics, primarily a sports merchandise company, announced last month that it was to purchase these assets for $150m. The two parties were confident that the deal would close at the time and a PointsBet shareholder vote was to take place on June 30 to approve the bid.
an offer that is worth 30% more than what is already on the table
Now it appears that DraftKings is trying to swoop in with an offer that is worth 30% more than what is already on the table. DraftKings co-founder and CEO Jason Robins believes that this potential transaction would allow his company to “prudently capitalize” on a compelling opportunity at an attractive valuation. He said DraftKings’ scale and “ability to generate meaningful synergies” are other compelling factors for PointsBet to consider.
DraftKings Chief Financial Officer Jason Park believes an acquisition of PointsBet’s US assets would provide new bet types to customers and help accelerate the plan to bring more of DraftKings’ mobile sportsbook technology in-house.
