The Stars and Flutter mega-merger is one step closer to completion.
Last week, The Stars Group (TSG) shareholders overwhelmingly voted in favour of the operator’s acquisition by Flutter Entertainment.
At a meeting held on Friday 24 April, approximately 99.99% of votes cast were in favour of the mega-merger which will create the largest online gambling company in the industry.
This news comes just days after Flutter Entertainment’s shareholders approved the merger. During Flutter’s extraordinary general meeting, which was held on 21 April, the gambling company’s shareholders holding 99.2% of shares approved the merger while shareholders holding 0.81% of shares voted against it.
With the approval of TSG’s shareholders, Flutter and TSG expect the acquisition to close in May.
Merger details
The deal will see Flutter exchange 0.2253 new shares for each share of TSG. Flutter shareholders will own about 54.64% of shares in the new combined business while TSG shareholders will hold the remaining shares. The merged company will continue to operate under the Flutter Entertainment name.
The companies hope to deliver substantial value creation for shareholders from pre-tax cost synergies of £140 million per annum and potential revenue cross-sell in international markets and lower finance costs.
Once Flutter finalizes its purchase of TSG it will form a combined business with an annual revenue of $4.7bn (£3.8bn). When the deal was made, Flutter said the merger would create the largest online gambling company on the planet.
Receiving approval
Although the merger received shareholder approval from TSG and Flutter shareholders, it is still subject to regulatory approval in several markets.
The merger is subject to both regulatory and authority approval from several bodies including the London Stock Exchange, FCA and Euronext Dublin as well as regulatory approval in the UK, Ireland, US, Canada and Australia.
In early February, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation into the proposed merger. The CMA concluded its investigation in March and approved the deal.
In February, the merger also received approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
