Will MGM Make A Counter Offer To Stop DraftKings From Acquiring Entain

Updated On Sep 22, 2021 by Cameron Bishop

Entain to be acquired by DraftKings or MGM ResortsSome of the biggest gambling acquisition deals in recent years were only made public when the contracts were signed. DraftKings did not make an official announcement but news broke on CNBC that the company has made a $20 billion offer to acquire Entain.

Entain is a British gambling giant that was formerly known as GVC Holdings. The company owns a number of popular brands in the online casino and sports betting market. Some of their biggest brands in the EU market include Ladbrokes, bwin, Coral, partypoker and Gala Casino.

Entain also owns a number of top brands in the U.S. market. Some of these brands include the Borgata, Ninja Casino and BetMGM. Entain entered into a partnership with MGM Resorts and the two own 50 percent of BetMGM.

DraftKings is looking to acquire Entain with a stock and cash offer. The news of a potential acquisition was sufficient to send Entain’s share prices soaring by 22 percent. If DraftKings does go ahead and complete the acquisition, it would then become a 50 percent partner in BetMGM and join forces with its rival partner MGM Resorts.

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This could pose a challenge for both operators as they have very different strategies when it comes to their sports betting plans. A merger between DraftKings and MGM Resorts on the sports betting front could also create headaches for gaming regulators in different regulations as they would combine to dominate a majority of the sports betting market share in multiple states.

MGM Resorts Could Make New Bid

MGM Resorts and Entain have been partners since 2018. MGM made a bid to buy out Entain in Jan 2021 when it put forward a proposal for $11 billion. That offer was rejected and since then MGM made it clear that if Entain were to receive any other acquisition offers that controlled its U.S. betting operations, they would have to receive approval from MGM since they controlled a 50 percent market share in the U.S.

Market analysts suggest that MGM might make a third acquisition offer to Entain to buy out its U.S. based sports betting operations. MGM’s priority right now is to continue to boost the growth of BetMGM which is now one of the top three sports betting operators in America and the number one online gaming operator in the country.

Cameron works tirelessly behind the scenes ensuring his many US news stories are factual, informative and brought to you in a timely fashion before most other media outlets have them. He is an investigative journalist at heart who also has a fond interest in the money and business markets too.

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