La Française des Jeux (FDJ) has finalized the acquisition of Kindred Group, reinforcing its position as one of Europe's leading gambling players. The purchase is expected to drive growth, diversify services and strengthen the group's competitiveness in the online gaming market.
La Française des Jeux (FDJ) has successfully completed its takeover bid for Sweden's Kindred Group, a major player in online betting and gaming in Europe. At the end of the offer period, FDJ acquired 90.66% of Kindred's share capital, i.e. 195,659,291 Swedish Depository Receipts (SDR). At the same time, FDJ had also directly acquired 1.11% of the capital from the investment company Veralda. With over 90% of the capital under control, FDJ has confirmed the completion of the acquisition and will proceed with the compulsory delisting of Kindred from the Nasdaq Stockholm stock exchange as of October 11.
However, FDJ is extending the offer until October 18, allowing the remaining shareholders to sell their shares under the same conditions (130 Swedish kronor per SDR). Settlement-delivery for these additional shares will begin on October 29.
Kindred, present in seven of Europe's ten largest markets, including the Netherlands, the UK, France, Sweden and Belgium, offers a wide range of online games via well-established brands such as Unibet and 32Red, with popular options such as online casino with instant withdrawal.
The transaction, worth a total of almost €2.5 billion, strengthens FDJ's position as Europe's leading gaming group, combining monopoly activities, notably in lotteries in France and Ireland, with competitive activities in the sports betting and online gaming markets in Europe.
The combined group will now generate around 26% of its sales internationally, compared with just 4% prior to the acquisition, and its competitive online activities will account for 27% of total business. Kindred's technology and digital expertise will accelerate FDJ's digitization, with the new group's share of online sales rising from 12% to 34%.
This combination places the new group among Europe's top three gaming operators, with a commercial strategy balanced between monopoly and competitive markets. The combined group will benefit from solid growth in revenues and profitability, with a positive impact on earnings per share from 2025 onwards.
