MIXI has received approval from the Australian government regarding its possible acquisition of PointsBet.
The Japanese conglomerate submitted an improved A$402m (£192.6m) bid for the Australia- and Canada-facing operator earlier this month, valuing the company at A$1.20 per share.
Today, 12 June, PointsBet confirmed MIXI’s bid has received approval from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).
MIXI’s Australian subsidiary, MIXI Australia, received confirmation under the country’s Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975.
This affirmed that “the Australian Commonwealth Government has no objection to the acquisition by MIXI of up to a 100% interest in PointsBet Holdings Limited”.
MIXI Australia is the company behind MIXI’s betM brand, which is licensed in the Northern Territory.
The deal is still subject to other closing conditions, including additional approval from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and iGaming Ontario.
MIXI’s improved bid came in response to an offer submitted by BlueBet parent company Betr in April, worth A$360m.
Betr’s offer was made up of A$260m in cash in addition to A$100m worth of Betr shares.
That deal had also earmarked the sale of PointsBet’s Canada-facing operations to Hard Rock Digital for A$29.6m.
The operator’s original cash-plus-scrip offer was rejected by PointsBet back in April over fears the bid wasn’t fully funded.
PointsBet had told its shareholders that it was giving serious consideration to Betr’s bid, which would have valued the company at $A1.33 per share.
In turn, MIXI increased its initial bid by 13.2%, with the new deal worth A$49m to PointsBet shareholders.
Had the offer not received approval, MIXI said it was willing to continue the deal “via an off-market takeover bid” worth A$1.20 per share.
Last month, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) fined PointsBet A$500,000 for breaching the country’s e-marketing and gambling self-exclusion laws.
The post Australian government gives approval for MIXI’s acquisition of PointsBet first appeared on EGR Intel.
Japanese conglomerate’s A$402m bid receives approval from the country’s Foreign Investment Review Board as deal gathers pace
The post Australian government gives approval for MIXI’s acquisition of PointsBet first appeared on EGR Intel.