Betr welcomes PointsBet shareholder vote outcome as it prepares takeover offer
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
More news: Online sportsbetting company Betr has welcomed clarification that a PointsBet takeover proposal from MIXI did not pass a shareholder vote as it continues efforts to outbid the Japanese entertainment company.
Betr’s votes were initially not counted at a PointsBet shareholders meeting on MIXI’s proposed takeover bid, with share registry Computershare later explaining there was “an issue with the system set up for the meeting”.
Betr argued in a statement issued on Thursday afternoon that since it is the largest PointsBet shareholder and that PointsBet expected Betr to vote against the MIXI deal, PointsBet should’ve undertaken further inquiries before announcing the results of the vote.
Betr accused PointsBet of conduct that “was unprofessional and irresponsible, reflecting a failure of appropriate governance, and not merely an error by Computershare as PointsBet has suggested”.
While PointsBet shareholders consider an off-market takeover offer from MIXI, confirmed on Thursday morning, Betr said it will continue to prepare its takeover offer “direct to PointsBet shareholders and will share further details with the market in coming days”.
Betr also flagged that, under the vote, "only 53% of all shares were in favour" of the MIXI scheme. MIXI's off-market takeover bid would offer a 50.1% minimum acceptance condition.
What they said: “As previously stated, Betr remains concerned that the PointsBet board is seeking to transfer control to MIXI without allowing a genuine contest to take place and that this may not result in an optimal outcome for PointsBet shareholders,” the Betr statement said.
PointsBet and Betr shares slide as MIXI lodges off-market takeover
More news: Shares in online bookmaker PointsBet and rival Betr have fallen as Japanese entertainment company MIXI confirmed it will make an off-market takeover bid for PointsBet after its initial proposal failed at a shareholder vote on Wednesday.
At 11:04am AEST shares in PointsBet had fallen 1.3% to $1.18. Shares in Betr, a major PointsBet shareholder which has been trying to outbid MIXI, had fallen 3.6% to $0.26.
The MIXI deal had initially appeared to have achieved the requisite majority because Betr votes had not been counted. This was later blamed on a technical error by share registry operator Computershare and the MIXI scheme was ultimately not passed.
MIXI tables off-market PointsBet takeover after failed shareholder vote
More news: Japanese entertainment group MIXI has confirmed it will make an off-market takeover offer to acquire all the shares in PointsBet, for an all-cash consideration of $1.20 per share, after its previous bid failed a vote by PointsBet shareholders on Wednesday.
PointsBet's board has agreed to unanimously recommend that shareholders accept the offer.
The new takeover offer has a 50.1% minimum acceptance condition. MIXI's previous bid, also valued at $1.20 per share, had a 75% threshold.
This morning PointsBet confirmed that 70.48% of shareholders voted to approve MIXI's previous offer, short of the required majority, after a system error by Computershare initially showed that 95.69% voted in favour of the resolution.
The error by Computershare omitted votes cast by Betr Entertainment, a rival suitor and 19.9% shareholder of PointsBet. PointsBet's board previously described a competing bid by Betr to be "materially below" MIXI's offer, with the proposal featuring "materially overstated" cost synergies.
What they said: "MIXI Australia is encouraged by the fact over 95% of votes cast by PointBet shareholders (excluding Betr) were in favour of the scheme demonstrating positive support of MIXI's proposal to offer superior and more certain all-cash value," MIXI said in note.
PointsBet confirms MIXI takeover vote failed after counting error
The news: Online bookmaker PointsBet has confirmed that Wednesday's shareholder vote — which approved a $402 million takeover by Japanese entertainment company MIXI — was counted incorrectly after a system error by Computershare.
The numbers: The revised results of the shareholder meeting showed that 70.48% voted to approve the resolution, short of the 75% threshold.
On Wednesday, rival suitor and 19.9% shareholder Betr claimed its vote was "impermissibly excluded", after the results showed that 95.69% of PointsBet shareholders voted in favour of the resolution.
It came after PointsBet told investors that it expected the proposal to be rejected, as nearly 30% of proxy votes rejected the move.
The context: PointsBet said that it was informed last night that Betr's votes were incorrectly excluded from the final voting results by Computershare.
PointsBet previously told investors in the event of a failed vote, MIXI will make an off-market takeover bid with a minimum acceptance condition of 50.1%.
