Takeovers Panel accepts Betr undertakings over PointsBet bid
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The news: The Takeovers Panel has declined to make a declaration of unacceptable circumstances over gambling company Betr's off-market takeover bid for ASX rival PointsBet, after PointsBet told the panel last month that Betr's offer was "misleading and unbalanced".
The panel has accepted undertakings by Betr to file a replacement bidder's statement "in a form that the panel does not object to" and not proceed with its proposed $80 million selective share buyback until it has received an ASX waiver allowing rival suitor MIXI to participate in the offer.
The panel has also accepted undertakings by Betr to cancel its shareholder meeting on 25 August, which was set to see shareholders vote on the selective buyback, and issue a replacement meeting notice accompanied by an independent expert's report.
The context: The proposed share buyback, which PointsBet called a "clear inducement" to its shareholders to accept Betr's takeover bid, received support from Betr shareholders when proxy votes were tallied earlier this month.
The Takeovers Panel said in a release this morning that Betr's undertaking "ensures that adequate disclosure is made and that the selective share buyback is adequately structured ... and is otherwise not misleading."
"The panel considers that it is not against the public interest to decline to make a declaration of unacceptable circumstances," it said.
Last week, PointsBet's board has unanimously recommended that the company's shareholders accept an improved takeover offer by Japanese entertainment giant MIXI.
The source: ASX
