Australian online betting firm PointsBet said Thursday its board had unanimously recommended a A$1.20-per-share ($0.82) takeover offer from Japan’s MIXI, as the Tokyo-listed tech company formally launched its off-market bid.
The all-cash offer, lodged by MIXI’s local subsidiary MIXI Australia, is open until 7:00 p.m. Melbourne time on August 25th, unless extended or withdrawn. It values PointsBet’s equity at around AU$460 million ($304.1 million) and implies an enterprise value of A$402 million ($276 million), based on the company’s FY25 guidance.
The bid, which requires a minimum acceptance of 50.1 percent, comes as MIXI faces competition from rival bidder Betr Entertainment, which has tabled a scrip-based alternative. PointsBet’s directors have backed the MIXI proposal in the absence of a superior offer, noting its certainty and simplicity compared to Betr’s stock-based approach.
In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange, PointsBet said it had lodged its official Target’s Statement with the corporate regulator and had begun sending it to shareholders.
MIXI enters the offer period with 17.18 percent of PointsBet shares effectively locked in, thanks to pre-bid agreements covering 9.15 percent of issued stock, including from Bennelong Long Short Equity Management (2.76 percent) and Pictet Asset Management (Singapore) (6.40 percent), along with the 8.02 percent held by company directors.
The Japanese tech group’s offer represents a 44.6 percent premium to PointsBet’s closing price of AU$0.83 ($0.55) on February 25, the day before MIXI’s earlier scheme proposal was unveiled, and a 40.3 percent premium over the one-month VWAP of AU$0.86 ($0.57).
It also exceeds the upper end of an independent valuation range disclosed by PointsBet in May by as much as AU$0.24 ($0.16).
Regulatory approvals have already been secured in key markets, including Australia’s Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission and Canada’s Ontario gambling authorities (AGCO and iGO), removing one of the major hurdles to the deal.
Unlike Betr’s offer, MIXI’s bid is fully funded and carries no financing conditions or reliance on synergies. The Japanese firm argues this structure provides maximum deal certainty for PointsBet shareholders.
MIXI has been expanding its portfolio through strategic investments abroad, with PointsBet marking its most ambitious push yet into the Australian wagering sector.
