MGM Resorts International has announced its offer to buy LeoVegas for SEK 61 ($5.65) per share, from 2 May 2022, has been accepted by the LeoVegas shareholders.
MGM Resorts now owns 63,047,289 shares in LeoVegas, which is around 65% of LeoVegas 1 – while also acquiring 30,400,000 shares for LeoVegas 2 – an amount that corresponds to 93,447,289 shares and 96% of LeoVegas in total.
However, following an extended acceptance period, which expired on 14 September, MGM Resorts also purchased 2,320,120 more shares, following the expiry of the offer.
Collectively, MGM Resorts now owns 98% of LeoVegas and has initiated a compulsory acquisition procedure with the Swedish Companies Act to gather the remaining shares not tendered in the offer.
Recently, LeoVegas was fined £1.2m ($1.4m) by the Gambling Commission in August for social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures in the UK.
The Gambling Commission’s Director of Enforcement and Intelligence, Leanne Oxley, commented on the fine, saying: “We identified this through focused compliance activity, and we will continue to take action against other operators if they do not learn the lessons our enforcement work is providing.
“This case is a further example of operators failing to protect customers and failing to be alive to money laundering risks within their business.”
However, LeoVegas did announce a new sports betting partnership with Manchester City FC, with CEO Gustaf Hagman saying: “LeoVegas is proud to be entering into this partnership with Manchester City and excited to be able to offer our customers unique experiences with the club.”
