How the bitter fight for control of Pointsbet ended in an awkward stalemate
The seven-month power struggle between Japan's MIXI and Matt Tripp's Betr had more twists than most on the ASX. But it looks to have ended with a whimper.
The bitter takeover fight for PointsBet is chugging towards an awkward stalemate, with Tokyo-listed entertainment group MIXI eking out a controlling interest in the bookmaker, while rival suitor Betr Entertainment refuses to give up its stake.
The fizzling out of the ASX’s most chaotic contest of the year is an eerily calm conclusion to a months-long saga of statutory disputes, voting errors and public barbs.
“Betr have been so far behind the eight ball, theoretically, from day one, and yet have managed to stay in this process for all of this time,” said Luke Cummings, chief investment officer and managing director of Harvest Lane, a 6.7% shareholder in PointsBet.
“The analogy I've been using is they’ve been sitting at the poker table with a two and a seven against pocket kings from day one, and have somehow managed to continue to stay in the hand, which is amazing in many respects.”
