October 30, 2021
Sports betting has been rocking and rolling across America, but any thought of a DraftKings Entain deal will have to be put on hold… at least for now.
The sports betting company had shown interest in Entain, owners of Ladbrokes and the Coral brands, with a proposed buyout of over $22 billion. But that bid was withdrawn following what the company said was “further analysis and discussions”.
Entain had request to extend the deadline for a bid presentation, which British regulators had agreed to, giving DraftKings until November 16th. Previously, the deadline was October 19th for a formal offer.
The CEO of DraftKings later stated that after “…several discussions with Entain leadership, DraftKings has decided that it will not make a firm offer for Entain …”. Sports betting companies in the U.S. have been looking for opportunities to grab foreign operators to help with the exploding demand for sports betting.
Although the current DraftKings Entain deal did not materialize, some in the industry feel this is not the final word. We could see some sort of second effort in the future, with DraftKings trying a different approach or choosing a different target.
