PointsBet Reiterates Support for MIXI Deal Despite Betr’s Latest Proposal

PointsBet has reaffirmed its preference for MIXI Australia’s merger offer amid continued efforts from Betr Entertainment to acquire the operator. While Betr insisted that its proposal offered superior value and suggested that PointsBet had not considered its offer in good faith, the Australian sportsbook firmly rejected the allegations.

Betr’s Duel with MIXI Continues

For context, PointsBet has been in the crosshairs of potential buyers for a while. Last year, BlueBet proposed to acquire the business for AUD 340 million ($220.5 million) but was quickly challenged by MIXI Australia, which put forward AUD 353 million ($227 million) instead.

Betr Entertainment, which eventually acquired BlueBet, then emerged with an AUD 360 million ($231.6 million) offer, saying that AUD 40 million ($25.7 million) in synergies could deliver a total value of AUD 1.33 ($0.86) per share. PointsBet’s leadership at the time acknowledged that this was a superior offer.

However, when MIXI Australia slammed AUD 402 million ($261 million) on the table, equivalent to AUD 1.20 ($0.77) per share, PointsBet started leaning in that direction.

While Betr asserted that synergies would result in a greater value, PointsBet’s leadership suggested that its forecasts were too optimistic. As a result, the latter company encouraged its shareholders to back the MIXI proposal.

Betr wasn’t all too happy with that development and accused PointsBet of not acting in good faith. It later returned with a new all-scrip offer and said that various experts had independently verified that the synergies could have an even higher value.

In fact, the advisers upgraded their verified synergy estimates from our AUD 41.6 million to AUD 47.5 million, giving us great confidence in our ability to deliver in line with our plan.

Matt Tripp, chair, Betr

PointsBet Says It Did Not Act in Bad Faith

In response, PointsBet reiterated its intention to proceed with the MIXI proposal and encouraged its stakeholders to vote in favor of that deal instead. The sportsbook reiterated its claims that Betr’s proposal included materially overstated synergy forecasts in addition to being uncertain and “highly conditional.”

PointsBet had other concerns about the Betr proposal, which included a potential share buyback, emphasizing that it is a separate transaction that PointsBet shareholders wouldn’t get to vote on. PointsBet thus said that Betr’s immediate liquidity promises are uncertain.

PointsBet denied having acted in bad faith and insisted that it had considered Betr’s offer until MIXI returned with a superior proposal.

As a result, PointsBet urged shareholders to approve the MIXI takeover and suggested that the latest Betr proposal is not in their best interest.

However, Betr, which owns a 19.9% stake in PointsBet, has already stated that it will vote against the MIXI deal, potentially jeopardizing the future of the arrangement.