MIXI Australia has completed its takeover offer for PointsBet, securing a total of 66.43% of the overall voting power in the online sportsbook and casino operator.
The bid formally closed on the evening of 12 September, with MIXI having already taken a majority holding in PointsBet. Just a few days prior to the closing, MIXI said its holding in the operator had reached 51.59%.
Shareholders that accepted the offer prior to date of closure will now be paid in line with the proposal. MIXI submitted its bid in August, valuing PointsBet at $1.25 in cash per share. This was to increase to $1.30 per share if MIXI secured more than 90% of the total holding.
However, the latter price was always unlikely, given Betr Entertainment’s opposition to the bid. Betr holds a 19.9% stake in PointsBet and refused to accept the latest MIXI offer. With confirmation that MIXI only secured a 66.43% holding, this means the $1.25 per share price will remain.
In total, MIXI now holds 230,893,535 of all votes in PointsBet. At the time of writing, the operator’s shares were trading at a price of $1.27 each.
PointsBet takeover saga concludes
Completion of the takeover bid marks the end of a long-running contest to secure control of PointsBet.
Talk about a possible, overseas-led takeover have been present since the end of 2024. Betr was among the first to be linked with a bid in November but these reports were shut down by PointsBet.
However, just a few months later in February this year, PointsBet’s board approved an initial proposal from MIXI. This would have seen it pay $1.06 in cash per share for a 100% holding in the operator.
Betr then came to the table with a bid worth $360 million. This comprised a cash pool of between $240 million and $260 million, plus scrip consideration of $100 million to $120 million, as well as synergies of at least $40 million annually. At the time, the PointsBet board declared this proposal to be “superior”.
However, in June MIXI returned with an improved offer of $1.20 per share. This led to the PointsBet board to formally reject the Betr proposal and vote in favour of the MIXI bid.
When the vote came, this showed apparent significant support for MIXI. Some 95.69% of all shareholders approved the offer. However, the proxy vote was more mixed, with 69.47% backing the proposal.
This led Betr to accuse PointsBet of “impermissibly excluding” its vote against the scheme without reason. Betr said its proxy vote was not included in the final tally, thus skewing the results.
PointsBet investigated the matter, with stock transfer company Computershare finding the exclusion was due to a system error. As such, it held a recount, with this drawing 70.48% approval – short of the required amount for the takeover to proceed.
Betr falls by the wayside
In the months that followed, MIXI and Betr sought to outdo each other by tabling several improved proposals. However, throughout the process, PointsBet retained its preference for a MIXI-led takeover, constantly rebuffing Betr’s bids and urging shareholders to approve the final MIXI offer.
Incidentally, Betr’s proposal – on paper – was valued higher than the final, successful offer from MIXI. Betr put forward an all-share bid worth $1.40 per share but this was not enough to sway PointsBet, which is now, comfortably, majority-owned by MIXI.
MIXI secured 66.45% of the shares in PointsBet, seeing off competition from Betr to cement its majority holding.