Entain in talks to purchase a slice of Tabcorp Holdings Limited

Fresh from rebuffing a $11.1 billion takeover offer from MGM Resorts International and prominent land-based and online sportsbook operator Entain is now reportedly attempting to buy a significant portion of Australian sportsbetting giant Tabcorp Holdings Limited for an undisclosed amount.

According to a report from the Bloomberg news service, the London-listed firm behind the United Kingdom’s Ladbokes and Coral-branded estate of land-based bookmakers recently made a non-binding offer for the wagering and media division of its Melbourne-headquartered counterpart so as to give it extra scale in the region.

Domestic dominance:

The news service reported that wagering and media is the second most lucrative branch of Tabcorp Holdings Limited’s overall operation after generating 40% of its revenues for the year to the end of June at approximately $3.98 billion. The Sydney-listed company merged with local rival Tatts Group Limited in 2017 and is now purportedly thought to hold a market share of around 57% courtesy of its estate of over 4,400 land-based sportsbooks spread across Australia.

Rival risk:

Bloomberg reported that Entain, which was previously known as GVC Holdings until undergoing a name-change late last year, is moreover responsible for such online gambling brands such as Bwin, Gamebookers and SportingBet and is simultaneously attempting to complete a proposed $340.3 million buyout of Baltic-facing competitor Enlabs AB. The Isle of Man-based firm purportedly used an official filing to declare that its offer for Tabcorp Holdings Limited could soon face competition with the target having received ‘a number of unsolicited approaches and proposals’ over the past few weeks.

Investor optimism:

David Brohan from Goodbody Stockbrokers reportedly told Bloomberg that sportsbetting has recently become a busy area for mergers globally with the news from Entain having been largely responsible for sending the value of individual shares in Tabcorp Holdings Limited up by as much as 12% earlier today to $3.43.

Reportedly read a statement from Brohan…

“Given the consolidated nature of the Australian market, there are limited such opportunities left to look at. Assuming any deal is completed at the right price we can see positives from a transaction.”