MIXI secures majority control of PointsBet with 66.4% stake

Japan’s MIXI has completed its takeover bid for PointsBet, securing 66.43% of the voting power in the online sportsbook and casino operator and ending months of competition with rival suitor Betr.

The offer formally closed on September 12, with MIXI already holding 51.59% in the days before closure. The Japanese group’s bid valued PointsBet at AU$1.25 ($0.83) a share in cash, a price that would have increased to AU$1.30 if MIXI had surpassed 90% ownership. That threshold was not met after Betr, which holds 19.9%, refused to accept the deal. MIXI now controls 230,893,535 votes in PointsBet.

The completion of the bid marks the conclusion of a takeover saga. MIXI first offered AU$1.06 a share in February, while Betr countered with a AU$360 million bid comprising AU$240 million–AU$260 million in cash, AU$100 million–AU$120 million in scrip, and at least AU$40 million in annual synergies. At the time, the PointsBet board declared the Betr proposal to be “superior.”

However, MIXI returned in June with an improved AU$1.20 per share cash offer, prompting the PointsBet board to formally reject Betr’s bid and endorse MIXI’s.

Shareholder support for the MIXI deal reached 95.69% at one stage, but a proxy vote was more divided at 69.47%. Betr accused PointsBet of “impermissibly excluding” its vote against the scheme, though a subsequent investigation found the exclusion was due to a system error. A recount drew 70.48% approval, short of the required threshold at that time.

Both suitors raised their bids in the following months, with Betr offering an all-share deal worth AU$1.40 per share. PointsBet ultimately rejected Betr’s higher-priced proposal in favour of MIXI, which has now cemented majority control.