La Française des Jeux (FDJ), France’s and the Republic of Ireland’s operator of national lottery games, has begun the squeeze-out process to acquire the remaining shares of Kindred Group, solidifying its path toward full ownership.
This follows the successful completion of its €2.45 billion ($2.64 billion) acquisition earlier this month, which saw FDJ secure control of 98.6% of the total shares of the group that “brought together leading and successful online gambling brands, forming one of the largest gambling companies in the world.”
The French group obtained the final regulatory approval from the French Competition Authority in September, which gave it the green light for the historic merger.
FDJ Surpassed the Critical 90% Threshold in October
The last major hurdle was cleared on October 2 when FDJ surpassed the critical 90% ownership threshold, as required by Swedish corporate law, which governs Kindred.
This enabled FDJ to move forward with the formal acquisition process.
FDJ’s control increased to 90.66% of Kindred’s share capital following its purchase of 196 million Swedish Depositary Receipts (SDRs) and an additional 2.4 million shares from Veralda, Kindred’s founder’s investment vehicle.
This raised FDJ’s overall stake in Kindred to 91.77% of the group’s outstanding shares.
To ensure all shareholders had a chance to tender their shares, FDJ extended the acceptance period until October 18.
During this window, an additional 14,734,917 shares corresponding to approximately 6.83% of the outstanding shares were submitted, further boosting FDJ’s ownership to 212,794,208 shares, or around 98.6% of Kindred’s total share capital.
Squeeze-Out Process Underway
The recently initiated squeeze-out procedure will now enable FDJ to forcibly acquire the remaining shares from minority shareholders who have not yet tendered their stakes.
Under the terms of the squeeze-out, shareholders must transfer their shares to FDJ by December 27, which is 45 business days from the official squeeze-out notice.
The price set for the remaining shares will be SEK130 ($12,27) per share, consistent with the price offered during the initial public bid.
Shareholders who have not yet transferred their shares are encouraged to contact their banks or custodians for guidance on how to proceed.
For those who fail to meet the December deadline, Kindred will automatically facilitate the transfer on their behalf.
This squeeze-out marks the final phase of FDJ’s acquisition of Kindred. All payments and share transfers are expected to be settled by the end of the year, closing this significant chapter in FDJ’s expansion.
At the end of last week, we reported that Kindred published a financial update as part of its tender offer by FDJ, with results aligned with their earlier projections and a full report scheduled for October 25.
