Online gambling operator Entain, formerly known as GVC Holdings, recently made a £250m (€281.1m/$339.4m) offer to acquire Enlabs, a finance company. This cash offer, supported by the Enlabs board, values the deal at SEK40 per share. Shareholders representing 42.2% of Enlabs’ shares have committed to accept the offer.
However, Alta Fox Capital Management, a minority shareholder owning 3.34% of Enlabs’ shares, has stated that it will not tender any shares at the current offer price. Alta Fox claims to have the support of other minority shareholders, including Topline Capital, which owns 2.44% of Enlabs’ shares. Additionally, private investors Hans Isoz, Jimmy Jonsson, and Ludwig Pettersson, collectively holding 4.92% of Enlabs’ shares, oppose the proposal.
Alta Fox argues that the offer undervalues the company and provides a minimal 1.1% premium to the pre-offer trading price. They question why Enlabs’ chairman accepted such an inadequate offer, especially considering that Entain will compensate him as a senior executive post-deal and Entain’s CEO recently announced his departure.
Instead, Alta Fox has proposed an alternate offer, suggesting that Entain should pay SEK55 per Enlabs share, valuing the company at around £337.6m. If Entain does not meet this asking price, Alta Fox believes that Enlabs should remain independent. The investor is confident in their ability to block a squeeze-out of minority shareholders and ensure their fair treatment under Swedish law.
At present, Enlabs’ shares are trading at SEK43.2 per share.
