Pointsbet enters trading halt amid anticipation of major transaction

The Pointsbet Holdings Ltd share price will be on a trading halt today as the sports betting company manages its continuous disclosure obligations related to a material transaction. Pointsbet has requested that the trading halt remains in place until an announcement is made to the market or normal trading resumes on Wednesday.

Bidding war

There is no clear information available about the specifics of the material transaction. Nevertheless, recent reports suggest that Pointsbet USA, the company’s American arm, has been approached for a possible acquisition. There are talks of two potential buyers, and rumours indicate the possibility of a bidding war between them.

There has been speculation about one possible suitor for the company, DraftKings. The CEO, Jason Robins, may have a personal interest in “levelling the score” with Michael Rubin, who is the head of Fanatics. Recently, DraftKings outdid Fanatics by offering US$195 million for Pointsbet USA, surpassing Fanatics’ offer of US$150 million.

The grudge

As per the New York Post, there seems to be a grudge held by Robins towards Rubin. This is because Rubin walked out of advanced merger discussions in 2021. The proposed merger had a value of around US $24 billion for each company, with a total of US $48 billion for the 50:50 merger.

It has been previously mentioned that Pointsbet’s Australian operations are up for potential sale, but it is unclear if this will be part of the current transaction.

Tomorrow, an eagerly anticipated announcement will shed light on the details of a significant development for Pointsbet, which investors and industry observers are eagerly awaiting.