Kambi pays back €7.5m Kindred Group bond
Sports betting supplier looking to greater flexibility with thoughts on M&A options as it employs Carnegie to conduct process
Kambi has repaid in full the €7.5m convertible bond previously held by Kindred Group as part of the former’s spin-off in 2014.
The news has seen the firm’s share price jump by 8.8% in morning trading to SEK198.70.
The sports betting supplier has elected to pay back the bond, having been given the option to prepay the full amount and exit the agreement at any time following a partnership extension in February 2022.
The February 2022 deal saw the pair ink a three-year extension to their sports betting agreement to the end of 2026 as Kindred looks to develop its in-house Kindred Sportsbook Platform (KSP).
Under the remit of the extension, Kambi was afforded the option to prepay the loan amount at its own discretion.
The Stockholm-listed firm has now elected to do so, which means it will no longer be required to seek consent from Kindred for certain events.
The payment of the bond also eliminates the prospect of Kindred converting those bonds into shares, which would have given the operator a controlling influence over Kambi.
Kambi said the repayment would have no impact on the pair’s partnership, with the extension through to 2026 to remain unaffected.
Additionally, Kambi has initiated a share repurchase programme which will see the firm buyback up to €7.2m in shares.
The programme, which was given the greenlight at Kambi’s EGM in June 2022, will see the board aim to add value for Kambi’s shareholders and give the board greater flexibility with the company’s capital structure.
Kambi said this flexibility could allow it to consider an acquisition.
The group has appointed Carnegie Investment Bank to conduct the share repurchases on its behalf. The process will take place between 3 and 31 May.