Kindred Group’s already busy year of twists took an interesting turn this week.
The Swedish global gaming operator and parent company of legal sports betting site Unibet has ramped up its plans to sell and is asking for bids from potential suitors by the end of May, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Less than two weeks ago, Henrik Tjärnström stepped down as CEO of Kindred. That came days after CFO Johan Wilsby also resigned. And both of those moves came on the heels of the Malta-based, worldwide online gaming company announcing in April that it was undergoing a “strategic review of alternatives” that could lead to selling the company.
Just a few weeks earlier, Kindred reported revenue of $381.8 million in the first quarter of 2023, up 24% year-over-year.
Garnering interest
Rumors are swirling about who could come in and swoop Kindred up.
One of those suitors named in the Bloomberg report is Flutter Entertainment, the parent company of FanDuel, tops among U.S. online betting sites, which owns 50% of the market share.
The list of gaming companies that have reached out to Kindred also included Entain and Evolution AB.
MGM Resorts International was also mentioned in the report because activist investor Keith Meister, a member of MGM’s and Kindred’s board of directors, owns a 15% stake in Kindred.
Attractive markets
Kindred appears to be a thriving player in the online gaming world, even after the last few months, so it will draw plenty of interest from potential buyers.
The company is a recognizable online casino figure in Europe, and Kindred runs 13 retail sportsbooks in the U.S. Unibet has extended Kindred’s reach throughout the U.S. market with operating licenses in Arizona, Indiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Kindred has a sports betting partnership in Washington as well, and has plans to move into Illinois.
