Rumors have resurfaced of a possible merger between gambling industry heavyweights Sportingbet and Unibet.
As the biggest merger that the online gaming industry has seen in some time nears completion between bwin and PartyGaming, financial website thisismoney.co.uk are reporting that Sportingbet are planning a swoop for their Scandinavian rival.
It was late last year that the Swedish company pulled out of the proposed $600m merger after media speculation but it now looks as though the two might rekindle what they had before.
Thisismoney.co.uk report that Sportingbet has sought the help of broker Daniel Stewart to create a package that might be favorable for the firm but it’s thought they’re still far from enthusiastic about any deal.
When contacting the two for a comment on the rumors both companies chose to issue no comment, but Unibet spokesperson Inga Lundberg did provide us with the following quotes from Danske Bank analyst Bile Daar.
Assessing Sportingbet’s ability to raise finance, Daar said: “Sportingbet has a net cash position of £43m and consensus estimates point towards a FY 07/2011 EBITDA of £50m. 3x ND/EBITDA would release £200m assuming that a 30% premium to Unibet’s current share price levels is warranted Sportingbet would be lacking £220m in financing which can be compared to Sportingbet’s current market cap of £250m. It simply doesn’t add up…..”
If you believe what this analyst says then Sportingbet simply doesn’t have the money to launch a bid for the Scandinavian operator. This is one takeover that doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon and more news in the coming months would hardly be a surprise. Keep an eye right here on the tablog as we will report any news on the merger as soon as we have it.
