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Leading online casino studio Evolution faces takeover bid
One of the biggest live dealer online casino developers in the world has a $14 billion offer to be taken over by billionaire investor Kenneth Dart.
Anyone who has played live dealer games at the best legal online casinos in the U.S. is likely familiar with games like Crazy Time, Lightning Blackjack and Monopoly Live. By default, they'll also know about Evolution, the producer of those titles. The gambling giant now faces a takeover bid for $13.8 billion from investor Kenneth Dart and his firm Candle Lake.
Billionaire investor behind offer to take over Evolution
According to reports, Candle Lake, Dart's investment firm, made a mandatory takeover offer for the Swedish gaming software provider Evolution, which develops many of the top live dealer online casino games for operators around the world.
The tab clocks in at around $13.8 billion and comes on the heels of Dart purchasing additional shares in Evolution to increase his stake to above 30%. In doing so, Dart became legally obligated to submit a takeover bid for the company and potentially take it private. That said, Dart has remained mum on his intentions, as have other shareholders.
Per reports, the offer represents a nearly 6% discount to Evolution's most recent closing price. Candle Lake has said that it made the bid because of the offer obligation, though it did not intend to purchase all Evolution shares.
Candle Lake did say, however, that "it does not intend to acquire the entire company or to make changes to its operations, management or workforce." In essence, at least on the surface, Evolution will continue business as usual as it develops some of the most popular live dealer titles for many of the best online casinos.
Offer comes on heels of a busy few months for Evolution
The 71-year-old Dart has long invested in gambling companies. With Candle Lake, Dart also stands as the largest shareholder in Flutter Entertainment, the parent company of several high-profile gambling brands, including FanDuel Casino.
The acceptance period of the $13.8 billion offer runs from Aug. 17 to Sept. 15 for Evolution, which was established in 2006 and is valued at around $15 billion.
Evolution is already embroiled in a high-profile lawsuit with rival developer Playtech, which also provides live dealer games to some of the best mobile casinos. Evolution alleges that Playtech hired a firm to investigate the company and produce a fraudulent report using "dirty tricks," thus smearing Evolution's reputation by linking it to black markets.
On top of that, the takeover bid came not long after Evolution put an end to a planned merger with Galaxy Gaming, which Evolution said was due to delays in receiving regulatory approvals as well as an admission that the deal wasn't vital to the company's future.
That said, Evolution still remains a leader in the live dealer gaming space, with many of the top online casinos integrating the company's games, including Hard Rock Bet Casino online.
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Written by Grant Lucas
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