Flutter Entertainment (OTC: PDYPF) is one step closer to having complete ownership of fantasy sports and sports betting giant FanDuel after the sportsbook announced it was acquiring an additional 37% stake in the business, bringing its ownership position to 95%. Boyd Gaming owns the remaining 5% interest.
Flutter is buying the position from FanDuel owner Fastball Holdings and will pay $2.1 billion in cash plus about 11.7 million in new Flutter stock. The acquisition will lift its ownership stake from 57.8%.
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A big bet on growth
Flutter is the world's largest bookmaker and owns Paddy Power, BetFair, FanDuel, and The Stars Group, owner of the world's leading poker platform, PokerStars.
It also owns Fox Bet, which it acquired from Fox (FOX +8.09%)(FOXA +7.60%), which in return acquired a 2.6% stake in Flutter. The sportsbook will be offering Fox a chance to acquire an 18.5% stake in FanDuel in July 2021 at fair market value.
"The first person I rang to tell about this deal on a confidential basis was [Fox CEO] Lachlan Murdoch," Flutter CEO Peter Jackson said on a conference call with reporters about the FanDuel deal this morning, according to Bloomberg. "Fox are an incredibly important media partner."
Flutter acquired its original stake in FanDuel in 2018 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that keeping sports betting illegal was unconstitutional. FanDuel has quickly become the largest sportsbook in the U.S., especially in the country's biggest market, New Jersey, where it routinely battles rival DraftKings.
