FDJ Has Acquired 1.12% of Kindred’s Outstanding Shares From Veralda at a Price of 122.5 SEK Per Share

BOULOGNE-BILLANCOURT, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:

Following an offer notice received from Veralda to sell 49% of its shares, 2.4m shares corresponding to 1.12% of the outstanding shares in Kindred, at 122.5 SEK, FDJ (Paris:FDJ) has decided to exercise the right of first refusal forming part of Veralda’s irrevocable undertaking and disclosed at the time of the Kindred transaction announcement on January 22^nd, 2024.

As a result, FDJ has acquired 2.4m shares representing 1.12% of Kindred’s outstanding shares and Veralda’s irrevocable undertaking will continue to apply to Veralda’s remaining 1.16% stake in Kindred.

On January 22^nd, 2024, La Française des Jeux SA (“FDJ”), announced a recommended public offer to the holders of Swedish depository receipts (the “SDRs”) in Kindred Group plc (together with its subsidiaries “Kindred” or the “Company”) to tender all their SDRs in Kindred to FDJ at a price of 130 SEK in cash per SDR (the “Offer”). For the sake of simplicity and because each SDR represents a share in Kindred, the SDRs will also be referred to as “shares” and the holders as “shareholders”.

As previously communicated, FDJ has obtained irrevocable undertakings to accept the Offer from shareholders representing 27.9% of the outstanding shares. One of these shareholders, Veralda, representing a 2.3% stake in Kindred, was allowed to sell 50% of its shares after Kindred’s March 15th, 2024, general meeting amending its bylaws to provide for squeeze-out rights of an offeror. If Veralda decided to sell its shares, it undertook to first offer FDJ the possibility to buy the shares at a price not higher than the price in the Offer of 130 SEK per Share.

On March 18^th, 2024, Veralda notified FDJ of its intention to sell 2.4m of its shares, corresponding to 1.12% of the outstanding shares in Kindred, at a price of 122.5 SEK per share. FDJ has decided to exercise the right to buy these shares from Veralda at such price.

After this purchase, FDJ holds 1.12% of the outstanding shares in Kindred and the remaining irrevocable undertakings with Corvex Management LP, Premier Investissement SAS, Eminence Capital, Nordea and Veralda represent in total 26.82% of the outstanding shares in Kindred.

The offer documentation, which includes detailed descriptions of the irrevocable undertakings, is available in English and Swedish on the FDJ Group website:

https://www.groupefdj.com/en/fdj-launches-a-tender-offer-for-kindred-to-create-a-european-gaming-champion/

About FDJ Group

France's leading gaming operator and one of the industry leaders worldwide, FDJ offers responsible gaming to the general public in the form of lottery games (draws and instant games), sports betting (through its ParionsSport point de vente et ParionsSport en ligne brands), horse-race betting and poker. FDJ's performance is driven by a large portfolio of iconic brands, the leading local sales network in France, a growing market, and recurring investments. The Group implements an innovative strategy to increase the attractiveness of its gaming and service offering across all distribution channels, by offering a responsible customer experience.
FDJ Group is listed on the regulated market of Euronext Paris (Compartment A – FDJ.PA) and is part of the SBF 120, Euronext 100, Euronext Vigeo 20, EN EZ ESG L 80, STOXX Europe 600, MSCI Europe and FTSE Euro indices.

For more information, visit www.groupefdj.com