Fortuna shareholder to launch offer for company

PRAGUE, Jan 3 (Reuters) – The preponderant shareholder of Fortuna Entertainment Group, Fortbet Holdings Limited, plans to introduce an offer for the company at 182.50 crowns per share, announced the Czech betting company on Wednesday.

Czech, Slovak, Polish, Romanian and Croatian markets are the epicentre of Fortuna’s operations. Announcing that the offer would be declared on Wednesday they said, the same would involve delisting of the shares in Prague and Warsaw.

“(Fortuna‘s) boards fully support and recommend the offer for acceptance… and also recommend voting in favour of Fortuna making the delisting application,” Fortuna added.

The shares were up 1.1 percent at 180.5 crowns in Prague at 0824 GMT.

Fortbet’s offer would value Fortuna at 9.49 billion crowns ($447.83 million) and subscription is planned for Jan. 23 to Feb. 23, Fortuna said.

Fortbet, part of Czech-Slovak investment group Penta Investments, already owns 79.8 percent of Fortuna.

The offer would be Fortbet’s second bid to gain full control after a buyout in the first half of 2017 raised its stake from a 68 percent share.

In its statement Fortuna added, a delisting would free it from public disclosures, left at a disadvantage to competitors.

Taking advantage of market opportunities, being more aggressive in acquisitions, as well as cost savings would become more viable by being unlisted, added the company.

Fortbet sent Fortuna an indicative offer of 170 crowns per share at the beginning of December and agreed to raise the offer, Fortuna said.

The offer price assumes no dividends for 2017 are paid.

Fortuna’s second-biggest shareholder, Templeton Asset Management, did not take part in the first offer. Its representatives could not be reached for immediate comment.

Fortuna reported a 78 percent rise in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to 28.3 million euros for the first nine months of 2017. The total amounts staked rose by 69 percent to 1.3 billion euros ($1 = 21.1910 Czech crowns).

Source: Reuters