Entain bosses scoop £110m deal jackpot
US bidder ups offer for gambling giant to £16bn as...
TOP bosses at Entain could bank a £110m jackpot under an American takeover of the gambling giant, a Daily Mail analysis has found.
Chief executive Jette NygaardAndersen and her lieutenants could make as much as £18.9m from the swoop by New York-based Draftkings, which has offered £16.4bn, or £28 per share.
Chairman Barry Gibson stands to make £1.9m and former bosses Kenny Alexander and Shay Segev could make another £88m between them, according to data from Refinitiv.
The figures take into account performance-based awards that NygaardAndersen and others are eligible for.
Draftkings’ approach to Entain, formerly known as GVC, was confirmed on Monday. It offered £25 per share but was rebuffed by Entain’s board. The US firm has now offered £28 per share, which Entain has said it will ‘carefully consider’.
Its move sent Entain shares rocketing as much as 8pc higher as speculation ramped up that fellow US giant MGM, which made an unsuccessful offer for Entain this year, could enter the fray, sparking a bidding war.
They closed 5.1pc, or 116p, higher at 2377p.
Yesterday, Entain stressed there was ‘no certainty’ a formal offer would follow but added: ‘The board strongly believes in the future prospects of the company underpinned by its leading market positions, world-class management and industry-leading technology.’
Entain was founded as GVC Holdings in 2004 and under former boss Kenny Alexander became one of the world’s biggest gambling firms. GVC completed a takeover of Ladbrokes Coral in 2018, with the group renaming itself two years later.
It has endured a bumpy ride since last summer, when Alexander unexpectedly quit. The Scot, 52, was later banned from driving in Australia after taking a car for a joyride.
He was replaced by former operating chief Shay Segev who left for sports streaming service Dazn in January, prompting the appointment of NygaardAndersen as chief executive.
A loosening of gambling regulations in the US has triggered an industry gold rush. UK firms have had to partner with American casinos, who want to buy British gambling technology and expertise. Last year William Hill was bought by casino giant Caesars for £2.9bn.
Entain also has a North American joint venture – BetMGM – with MGM and became a takeover target of the firm, which swooped with an £8bn offer in February. But that was fought off.
Entain shares have surged 184pc in the past year – with rivals Flutter and 888 Holdings up 36pc and 170pc respectively – and it was valued at about £14bn by investors yesterday.
Under the new offer, Nygaard-Andersen, 52, could make £4.4m. She owns 9,900 shares and has an interest in another 147,500. Finance chief Robert Wood stands to make £12m. And governance chief Robert Hoskin could make £2.2m.
Segev, 45, owned 1.6m shares at the end of 2020, and could make £45m from the deal if he still holds them. Alexander owned 1.5m when he left, worth £42m on deal terms. Entain declined to comment.