A vast array of changes at the top of Kindred Group has accelerated talk of a partial or full sale of its business after several members of its C-suite departed the company in recent weeks.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Kindred is now “accelerating” its plans to offload its business after a host of departures from the company’s C-level.
CEO Henrik Tjärnström departed the company with immediate effect following 13 years of service, with over 20 years affiliated with the group.
Other senior-level departures saw CFO Johan Wilsby depart the Swedish-based group, as well as Chief Marketing Officer Elen Barber and Chief Commercial Officer Anne-Jaap Snijders, who have announced that they will leave the group.
Kindred’s Q1 earnings report stated that it was conducting a “strategic review into alternatives” for the group, which included exploring a potential partial or full sale of the company.
Telling investors that the board had “unanimously decided to initiate a process to explore strategic alternatives”, a Kindred statement read: “As part of this strategic process, the Board of Directors will consider all potential alternatives that can deliver value for the Company’s shareholders.
“Such alternatives could include a merger or sale of the company (in whole or in part) or other possible strategic transactions.”
This was followed by the raft of C-level departures, which caused many to think that a change of hands could be accelerated.
These thoughts have now been reportedly confirmed, with Bloomberg also stating that Kindred is encouraging the first round of bids to be concluded by the end of May. The outlet also reports that PJT Partners, Morgan Stanley, and Canaccord Genuity Group have all been hired to facilitate the process.
It comes at a time when industry consolidation is on the mind of many in the industry, coming off the back of Fanatics’ agreement to purchase PointsBet US for $150m.
With FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM securing most of the sports betting and online casino market share in recent years, other smaller operators have been touted for potential acquisitions.
Kindred itself removed itself from the sports betting market of Iowa at the end of last year, noting that it wanted to focus on markets with both online casino and sports betting.
It remains to be seen which parties are interested in purchasing a stake in Kindred, but with a first-round bids deadline of next week, there could be quick developments.
