Entain, a global gambling conglomerate, has set sight at acquiring Olympic Entertainment Group for $1 billion (€890 million). Bloomberg reported the company’s acquisitive interest on Sunday, Nov. 21.

Entain eyes another major M&A move

Bloomberg said a company insider told them that Entain’s takeover bid of OEG is imminent, subject to approval and completion of requirements on corporate acquisition.

Should the sale proceeds without a snag, Entain would cement itself as the undisputed market leader in the Baltic gambling markets of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, where OEG operates 100 Olympic Casino locations and its flagship betting brand OlyBet.

Neither Entain nor OEG have published statements confirming the completion of the transaction. 

The firm would bolster its Baltic footprint following its €370 million acquisition of Enlabs by acquiring OEG’s principal online gaming competition Opitbet to its European brand portfolio.

Following the failure of owner Novalpina Capital, the sale of OEG has been considered a likely consequence. Novalpina bought OEG in 2018 for €300 million from firm founder Armin Karu and business partner Jaan Korpusov. According to Bloomberg, Entain had a variety of alternatives for structuring a deal with a ‘dysfunctional Novalpina’ – including acquiring individual market-by-market assets to better suit its Eastern European growth aspirations.

Looming merger with MGM

Regardless of the outcome of OEG’s acquisition, the market anticipates a critical end of the year for Entain, as US wagering partner MGM Resorts is likely to make a takeover bid that will be assessed once again by Entain’s board.

Entain rejected MGM’s $11 billion deal (1,383 pence per share) in January, stating that MGM had “seriously undervalued Entain’s future possibilities.” Earlier this summer, DraftKings, a US competitor, launched a £28 per share bid, valuing Entain at £18 billion. DraftKings would abandon its strategy, leaving industry analysts to speculate on how MGM will value and organize its pending acquisition.

MGM has been entrusted with pricing-up due to the never-ending M&A story in global gambling. US wagering’s hyper-growth trajectory against the backdrop of Europe’s compliance-heavy markets to reach an agreement that will reshape the sector’s future make-up.