Canada-based provider of technology-based product offerings The Stars Group Inc, which owns poker and gambling brands PokerStars, Full Tilt and BetStars, has filed a supplementary prospectus in North America. The Group revealed its intentions for a proposed public offering of 15 million common shares, with the funds accumulated by the sale set to be used to help the operator fund its $4.7-billion acquisition of Sky Betting & Gaming.
In addition, a secondary offering of 6 million common shares is also being considered by The Stars Group, but the size and price of the offering yet to be determined.
As revealed in a statement released by the company on Monday, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank Securities are acting as the joint book-running managers and representatives of the underwriters. There will also be a number of additional book-running managers, including Barclays, Goldman Sachs & Co, Macquarie Capital Inc and BMO Capital Markets.
The share offering is to be subjected to certain conditions, with The Stars Group being required to list the treasury common shares on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. The Toronto Stock Exchange would also have to give the green light to the offering. For the time being, the operator has filed the Preliminary Supplement with the competent regulatory bodies in each of Canada’s provinces and territories, as well as with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Stars Group Seeks Global Expansion
As mentioned above, the Canadian Group revealed that the net proceeds from the treasury offering are intended to be used to fund the Sky Betting & Gaming takeover deal, along with available cash on hand and debt financing. Back in April 2018, the company reached an agreement to acquire SkyBet in a deal, which is set to create the largest publicly-listed online gambling operator on a global scale.
The deal, which could turn out to be one of the largest corporate acquisition deals of 2018, needs to get official approval before it actually becomes a landmark moment in the history of The Stars Group. The multi-billion dollar agreement is to provide the Canadian gambling behemoth with the opportunity to expand its presence on the territory of the UK and also prepare for sports betting expansion into the US now when the conditions have become more favorable.
The Stars Group, formerly known as Amaya, has already demonstrated its interest towards further expansion after at the end of February it announced that it had acquired a 62% equity interest in CrownBet Holdings at the price of approximately $118 million. Following the announcement about the takeover deal, the Canadian Gambling company revealed that it was to increase its equity interest in CrownBet and also shared that it had signed a definitive agreement for the acquisition of William Hill Australia to increase its market presence in the region.
