In January, Ladbrokes and Coral operator Entain, submitted a cash offer to acquire Enlabs which would see it pay SEK 40 for each share, that was recommended by the Baltics-facing operator’s board.
However, later in the month shareholders holding an 11% stake in Enlabs announced their intentions to reject the offer which they say “materially undervalues” the company.
Alta Fox Capital Management, which owns 2,332,625 shares representing 3% of the company, stated it doesn’t plan to tender any shares at the current offering, believing at least SEK 55 per Enlabs share would be an acceptable offer.
But Entain has stood by its initial offer which it says is conditional upon the receipt of regulatory and governmental approvals, claiming it to be “acceptable.”
As a result, the operator has filed applications to obtain all the necessary approvals but due to not expecting such clearances to be received during the current acceptance period which expires on 18 February, Entain has extended it by a month until 18 March.
The operator, formerly known as GVC Holdings, also believes that provided all conditions of the offer have been satisfied by 23 March, the acquisition of Enlabs is expected to commence on 30 March.
An Entain statement said: “The offer and the acquisition of Enlabs is conditional on, among other things, the receipt of all necessary regulatory, governmental or similar clearances, approvals and decisions, including from competition authorities and gaming authorities, in each case on terms which, in Entain’s opinion, are acceptable.”