MIXI Australia on Thursday raised its all-cash takeover offer for bookmaker PointsBet and extended the bid deadline to August 29th, declaring its proposal “last and final” in a move that heightens pressure on rival bidder Betr.
In its latest dispatch today, MIXI Australia, a unit of Japan’s MIXI Inc, said shareholders who accept the offer would receive AU$1.25 ($0.80) per share, or AU$1.30 ($0.84) if MIXI secures more than 90 percent of PointsBet shares. The company stressed that the AU$1.30 ($0.84) price was final and would not be increased.
The cash offer, MIXI argued, provides “certainty” compared with Betr’s all-scrip proposal, which is subject to shareholder approvals and tied to the future value of Betr’s shares. MIXI currently holds 37.1 percent of PointsBet following acceptances from several institutional and long-standing shareholders.
“Betr’s proposal remains conditional, uncertain in value and timing, and depends on synergies that the PointsBet board itself has described as materially overstated,” MIXI said in a statement.
Betr, which is offering 4.219 shares for each PointsBet share, has pledged a potential share buy-back of up to AU$200 million ($128 million).
On Tuesday, PointsBet welcomed stronger disclosure requirements imposed on Betr after its unsolicited scrip-based offer.
The revisions followed undertakings to Australia’s Takeovers Panel, which led to the withdrawal of an earlier shareholder meeting on a selective buy-back and the release of a replacement bidder’s statement lodged with the corporate watchdog ASIC.
PointsBet said the revised filing better outlined the risks of Betr’s bid, including uncertainty around the proposed buy-back, and reiterated its board’s unanimous support for MIXI’s cash offer.
In its latest dispatch, MIXI noted that the buy-back is dependent on an uncommitted debt facility and could be reduced in size and price.
It also highlighted its funding strength, pointing to about AU$942 million ($603 million) in cash reserves at parent company MIXI, pledging to pay PointsBet shareholders within 10 business days of acceptance.
The company said its bid will close on August 29th and will not be extended further, except if required under Australian takeover law.
