Ladbrokes owner Entain hikes Enlabs offer after shareholder resistance
Ladbrokes owner Entain has today hiked its offer for Swedish rival Enlabs to around £310m, the firm announced this morning.
The FTSE 100 firm said that it was raising its bid from 40 Swedish krona per share to 53 Swedish krona per share, giving the firm a valuation of 3.7bn krona (£311m).
The decision to hike the bid comes after the firm ran into shareholder opposition over the deal.
The raise comes after Entain last month pushed the deadline for its offer to be accepted back to 18 March.
This morning’s offer is final, the firm said. Around 51 per cent of shareholders have already accepted the deal, Entain added.
Chief executive Rob Wood added: “Entain is able to provide the scale and platform needed to further support Enlabs’ long-term growth, and we firmly believe that Entain will be the best home for Enlabs, its employees and customers.”
The decision to raise the bid comes after Enlab’s largest shareholder Alta Fox complained that the initial offer was too low.
In January the US hedge fund said the takeover offer “materially undervalues” the company, adding that it had the support of shareholders representing roughly 10 per cent of Enlab shares.