Kindred shareholder urges Swedish gaming group to consider sale

div classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivpReuters – Swedish online gaming group Kindreds shares rose 5 on Wednesday after a major shareholder told the board to consider a sale of the company.p

pNew Yorkbased hedge fund Corvex Management, which holds more than 10 of Kindred shares, said it had urged the board to hire a financial adviser to look at strategic alternatives, including the potential value that could be achieved via sale or a business combination.pdivdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodiv

p“We believe Kindred has built a strategic position in the rapidly growing global online gaming space,” said Corvex, p

p“A fully informed Board will be in the best position to weigh any strategic alternatives, compared with Kindreds standalone business plan,” the hedge fund said.p

pKindred told Reuters it had noted the shareholders statement and said it welcomed a dialogue with all its owners, but did not have any further comment. p

pABG Sundal Collier analyst Oscar Rönnkvist said Kindred should be an attractive asset in the consolidating online gaming market, especially for U.S. companies such as Floridabased digital sports platform Fanatics.p

p“While Kindred has a proprietary developed platform, it also has market access to 11 US states and a licence in the Canadian province Ontario,” Rönnkvist said.p

pHe said there were also other potential buyers and strategic decisions Kindred could make.p

pPareto Securities analyst Georg Attling said the news was not a big surprise as the ownership of Swedish online gaming companies has shifted from Swedish institutions to foreign investors over the last few years.p

pKindreds Swedish peer LeoVegas on Monday received a 607million bid from U.S. casino operator MGM Resorts International.p

p

pp Reporting by Marie Mannes in Gdansk editing by Milla Nissi and Jane Merrimanp

divdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivdivdiv