MIXI vote win contested by betr in latest PointsBet takeover twist

Betr has challenged the validity of a PointsBet shareholder vote, which looked set to see Japanese rival MIXI secure the Australian wagering company in a $400 million deal.  

PointsBet released the outcome of the vote to the ASX at 11am on Wednesday, which showed 96 per cent of votes and 77.5 per cent of voters in favour of the MIXI deal, which placed a value of $1.20 per share on PointsBet.

That came after proxies indicated only 69.5 per cent of votes were in favour, which would have seen the takeover move blocked.

Under the terms of the vote, a requisite majority must be achieved at the scheme meeting. This represents approval of at least 50 per cent of shareholders by numbers and 75 per cent of shareholders by value.

That difference between the proxy and the final vote indicated that betr’s proxy votes – they hold 19.9 per cent of PointsBet – may have been revoked.

But a subsequent statement from betr indicated this was not the case and it is demanding a recount, or will challenge the vote in court.

“The Company confirms it validly lodged its proxy vote against the Scheme as recorded in the PointsBet announcement this morning. betr did not, at any time, revoke that proxy,” the statement said.

“Betr expects that the chair of the meeting will immediately conduct a recount of the vote and include the betr proxy vote in full. If the chair of the meeting fails to do so and announce the results prior to the Second Court Hearing tomorrow morning, betr will challenge the exclusion of its vote at tomorrow’s Second Court Hearing.

“In the interim, betr continues to prepare its unconditional takeover offer direct to PointsBet shareholders and will share further details with the market in coming days.” 

PointsBet issued its own statement rejecting those claims.

“These accusations are factually inaccurate and without basis. The chair of the meeting did not exclude Betr’s vote. Betr revoked the proxy it had previously lodged, and it did not cast a vote at the meeting,” it said.

“PointsBet understands, having confirmed with Computershare, that one of Betr’s senior company officers validly logged into the Scheme Meeting virtually and revoked Betr’s proxy on Betr’s behalf prior to the close of the poll.

“This person then did not lodge any votes for Betr at the Scheme Meeting. As noted above, this explanation is consistent with the records of the Scheme Meeting maintained by Computershare.”

A betr offer – Rival remains determined to fight for PointsBet

Betr says it will use its 19.9 per cent stake in PointaBet in an attempt to block an acquisition move from Japanese company MIXI.

The StraightBren O’Brien

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When the vote was announced, MIXI appeared to have won the battle to secure PointsBet, and a 5 per cent slice of the Australian wagering market to go with its small footprint through BetM.

With approvals already received on the pending MIXI offer from the Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board, the only barrier it needed to clear was Canadian regulatory approval, with MIXI also set to take over the company’s Canada operations.

It is believed that once this was secured, the takeover would proceed quickly, with the shareholders to be paid out and the expectation that the PointsBet brand will remain in Australia.

MIXI’s initial offer was at $1.06 a share, worth around $350 million, but it upped it to $1.20 after competition from betr.

Initially starting out as an employment search company, Find Job, in 1997, MIXI developed into a social network platform a decade later,

First publicly listed in 2006, it has a market capitalisation of over AU$2 billion, with a multi-faceted business in lifestyle, digital entertainment, business and investment.

In 2019, it acquired NetDreamers, the owners of Japan’s largest horse racing site, Netkeiba, which boasts a monthly audience of over 17 million.

Most significantly, in 2020 it secured TIPSTAR, a free-to-use social betting app allowing fans to bet on cycling and auto-race events through in-game coins or real money.

In the 2024 financial year, the TIPSTAR business generated around 25 billion yen, or AU$270 million, for MIXI.

“MIXI’s goal is to globalise social betting, a new form of entertainment to be enjoyed with friends,” Hiroyuki Kano, partner of Clayton Utz which has been advising MIXI on the acquisition, said in March.

“MIXI’s acquisition of PointsBet supports this vision, combining its TIPSTAR social betting product with PointsBet’s strong foundation in the Australian market.”

Should its bid be successful in intends to import some of the PointsBet expertise back into the Japanese market, which currently permits betting on only four sports, horse racing, bicycle racing, powerboat racing and motorbike racing, Over 8 trillion yen, or AU$85 billion, is turned over across these four legal sports each year.

In the MIXI – A Japanese behemoth eyes Australia as its next betting growth market

MIXI, the Japanese company at the centre of a takeover bid for PointsBet, has built a profitable betting business in Japan’s highly regulated sports betting market in just five years. It is banking on its social betting focus making a similarly major mark in Australia.

The StraightBren O’Brien

It is expected the suite of sports which can be bet on may be opened up over the coming years.

MIXI holds interests in professional football (Tokyo FC) and basketball teams (Chibajets), apps which help you find the closest sports bar (Fansta), the best beauty salon (minimo), facilitate family photo sharing (FamilyAlbum) and news and stat sites on cycling (netkierin), auto racing (keitan) and baseball (Weekly Baseball Online).

The latest iteration of betr’s bid was an all-scrip, off-market offer, which it says values PointsBet’s shares higher than MIXI’s $1.20. In what has been an acrimonious process, PointsBet’s board questioned several aspects of the proposal and values it at only $1.086 per share.

Betr sees the PointsBet acquisition as a key plank in achieving a better than 10 per cent market share.

Shares in betr dropped from 29 cents to 26 cents on the PointsBet announcement that MIXi had won the bid. PointsBet shares, meanwhile, are in a trading halt.