Entain CEO: MGM Complicated DraftKings’ $22.4B Takeover Bid

Complications introduced by BetMGM were part of the reason that DraftKings’ attempted $22.4 billion acquisition of Entain fell through, according to Entain CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen.

The U.S.-based online sportsbook is jointly owned by Entain and MGM Resorts, and is a competitor to DraftKings. MGM had said that it would need to approve any deal between the two companies.

“We have always been clear that the joint venture [with MGM] provides exclusivity for both parties for any activities involving sports betting and gaming in the United States,” Nygaard-Andersen told Reuters. 

“I think that played a role here, but any transaction of this size is complicated,” she added.

In addition to a bigger piece of the U.S. market, Entain would have given DraftKings its first foothold overseas.

• Entain has license to operate in at least 27 countries. 
• It owns a large in-person betting presence in the United Kingdom through its Ladbrokes and Coral brands.

DraftKings CEO Jason Robins offered a different explanation: “It was really more about our confidence in our current trajectory in the U.S., our desire to focus on the U.S. and, ultimately, the value that we felt like we would be shedding by pursuing that asset.”