A bidding war could ensue with the latest offer from Pacific Consortium to purchase Tatts Group Ltd – an Australian based lottery and betting company.
In 2016, the private equity group offered a buyout which valued shares of Tatts Group at A$3.40 a share; along with the purchase of shares in a spinoff company for A$1 a share putting the total offer at A$7.3 billion ($5.3 billion USD). At the time, Tatts Group deemed this offer inferior to one already on the table with Tabcorp. A proposed merger with another Australian based betting outfit – Tabcorp, worth A$11.3 billion would have made them the largest wagering company in Australia and one of the biggest in the world.
In hopes of sweetening the pot, Pacific Consortium; comprised of several investment firms Morgan Stanley and KKR & Co. recently offered an all-cash bid that has made Tatts board of directors reassess both offers and perform their “Due Diligence.”
While one shareholder expressed his opinion that this is the start of a bidding war; Tatts board of directors continue to lean towards the original offer by Tabcorp.
As of now, a new proposal is just that . . . a proposal, and does not affect the operations or shares of Tatts Group. In a statement released in response to the new proposal, Tatts had this to say.
"At this time, shareholders do not need to take any action in response to the revised indicative proposal and should not assume that the revised indicative proposal will result in an offer or transaction,"
