Kindred Group fortifies UK presence with $219M deal to acquire 32Red

Kindred Group, the parent company of online gambling brand Unibet, will fork out GBP175.6 million (USD219 million) to acquire rival 32Red, strengthening its position in the UK online casino market.

Under the deal, the Swedish online gambling company will pay 196 pence a share for 32Red, which is 16 percent above the Wednesday closing price for the UK operator who saw its shares surged in the past weeks over rumors of a possible takeover.

Kindred said the offer is 40 percent more than the average price in the last three months.

The takeover is the latest in the surge of mergers and acquisitions activities across the UK gaming sector. It’s also an overdue move by Kindred, which hasn’t entered a deal since acquiring Stan James and iGame in 2015.