PointsBet rejects Betr bid, backs $261 million MIXI offer

PointsBet Holdings Ltd has formally rejected a takeover offer from Betr Entertainment and agreed to a superior AU$402 million ($261 million) proposal from MIXI Australia, bringing a months-long bidding battle to a likely close.

The Australian betting company’s board unanimously backed MIXI’s improved bid of AU$1.20 per share, which represents a 44.6% premium to its closing price of AU$0.83 on February 25. The offer also exceeds the AU$1.06 per share proposal previously recommended by the board in February.

PointsBet has now entered a bid implementation deed with MIXI, a Japanese digital entertainment group, under which MIXI would acquire all issued shares in an off-market transaction. The deal is subject to a minimum acceptance condition of 50.1% of shareholders and regulatory approval in Ontario, Canada—PointsBet’s only remaining international market following the sale of its U.S. operations to Fanatics in 2024.

Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board has already cleared the MIXI bid, removing one key hurdle. A shareholder vote is scheduled for June 25.

Betr, formerly known as BlueBet Holdings, had previously emerged as a front-runner after PointsBet labelled its earlier offer as “superior” in May. However, PointsBet said a comprehensive review revealed critical shortcomings in Betr’s revised proposal.

Betr’s AU$1.20 per share offer, valued at approximately AU$360 million, was around AU$42 million less than MIXI’s revised offer. PointsBet also said the financial assumptions supporting Betr’s bid were unrealistic and that the synergies it projected were “materially overstated.”

“The board notes its own assessment of the value of the proposal differs materially from that of Betr,” PointsBet said. “The key reason for the difference in value is that the calculations underpinning Betr’s value are reliant on a number of assumptions that PointsBet considers to be unrealistic.”

The board also raised concerns over integration and implementation risks, citing significant customer crossover between the two companies and potential revenue cannibalisation. Betr had also assumed a carve-out of PointsBet’s Canadian business, which PointsBet said would have made proposed synergies even harder to realise.

If successful, the MIXI takeover is expected to bolster PointsBet’s strategic positioning amid ongoing consolidation in the betting industry. The backing of a global digital player, the board said, offers greater execution certainty and long-term alignment.