Ladbrokes owner throws another £80m at bid for Swedish online gambler

The owner of Ladbrokes has upped its offer for Swedish betting and gaming company Enlabs by nearly £80 million after struggling to convince enough shareholders to accept the deal.

Entain said that its bid had increased from 40 Swedish krona to 53 krona per share, bringing the total offer to 3.7 billion krona (£316 million). It is an increase from 2.7 billion krona (£237 million).

Shareholders have been given until March 18 to decide if they want to accept the offer.

“As a world leader in sports betting and gaming entertainment, Entain’s ambition is to revolutionise betting and gaming to create the most exciting and trusted entertainment for every customer,” said Rob Wood, the finance chief and deputy chief executive of Entain.

“In a highly competitive and regulated industry, where consolidation is a key theme, Entain is able to provide the scale and platform needed to further support Enlabs’ long-term growth, and we firmly believe that Entain will be the best home for Enlabs, its employees and customers.”

The offer is a major increase which Entain hopes can win over Enlab’s unconvinced shareholders.

It revealed on Monday that investors holding 51% of Enlabs shares had accepted the deal, but the company has set an acceptance target of 90%, meaning there is still a long way to go.

Getting over that line was likely to prove problematic as hedge funds that own more than 10% of Enlabs shares had signalled they opposed the deal.

If these shareholders are not convinced by the new takeover it could prove difficult for Entain, which made its bid final on Monday.

“We have decided to make a final offer of 53 krona to all shareholders, providing an opportunity to exit their investment at a very attractive valuation,” Mr Wood said.

“We are pleased that shareholders with around 51% have now irrevocably agreed to accept the offer and would urge other shareholders to do the same by March 18.”

Enlabs has around 300 staff in Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius, Malta, Marbella, Minsk and Stockholm.

It runs brands such as Optibet, Best Casino and Livematchen.