SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Ekobrottsmyndigheten – Sweden’s Economic Crime Authority has launched a preliminary investigation of LeoVegas AB, with regards to insider trading of the Stockholm Nasdaq firm’s company shares.
The firm stated that no employee, member in the management team or board member of LeoVegas, has been notified about any criminal suspicion and has no further information to provide at this time.
The investigation comes just a month after the US casino operator MGM Resorts announced plans to acquire the Swedish online gaming firm in a $607m (€575m) deal.
MGM’s offer is a 44.1 per cent premium on the LeoVegas closing price of SEK 42.32. MGM Resorts stated the acquisition of LeoVegas will provide a unique opportunity for the company to create a scaled global online gaming business.
At the time of reporting, MGM identified three key reasons for the acquisition; strategic opportunities to accelerate growth and product offerings outside of the US; the presence of an experienced online gaming management team and superior technology capabilities; and a commitment to continued profitable growth given it has operated profitably as a high-growth platform since 2014.
Headquartered in Stockholm, LeoVegas has licences in eight jurisdictions primarily in the Nordics and rest of Europe.
Furthermore, the Swedish operator, which has permitted the US group to carry out a due diligence review in connection with the offer, added that it has “taken a number of factors into account”.
These factors include, but are not limited to, the company’s present strategic and financial position and its expected potential future development as well as related opportunities and risks.
