Kindred Group initiates strategic review including potential sale of business

Kindred Group is set to undertake a strategic review of the business which could result in the sale of the company.

In a surprise update, the Stockholm-listed firm behind brands such as Unibet, 32Red and Maria Casino announced it was exploring options to maximise for its shareholders, with the board unanimously deciding to initiate the process.

The operator confirmed such options from the review could include the whole or partial sale of the company, or a merger option.

Kindred, which marked its 25^th anniversary last year, has engaged PJT Partners, Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc and Canaccord Genuity as financial advisors for the process.

White & Case has been enlisted as legal advisors in connection with the review.

Kindred said that there had been no timetable set for completing the review, and that there were no guarantees in relation to the outcome of it.

The operator said it would not make any further disclosures until final decisions had been made by the board.

In a statement, the company said: “Kindred Group has a world-leading portfolio of casino products and sports games in key jurisdictions globally, and the board is focused on maximising the value of these assets for the company’s shareholders. Kindred hereby announces that the company’s board has unanimously decided to initiate a process to explore strategic alternatives for the company.

As part of this process, the board will consider all potential alternatives that can deliver value for the company’s shareholders. Such options may include a merger or a sale of the company (in whole or in part) or other strategic transactions.”

Kindred Group shares were up 10% in early trading to SEK120 (£9.40).

Delivering its Q1 update, Kindred Group posted a 24.2% year-on-year (YoY) increase in revenue from £246.7m to £306.4m.

B2C operations revenue jumped 23% from £242.4m to £297.3m, with this figure revised to a 1% decrease when excluding the Netherlands.

Kindred re-joined the Netherlands in July 2022 with its Unibet brand after securing approval from the Netherlands Gambling Authority.

Its absence from one of its core markets had severely hampered the group’s performance, but in the first three months of the year, it has returned revenue of £57.3m.

Average group-wide active customers increased 18% YoY to 1,623,568, or a 3% increase when discounting the Netherlands.

Elsewhere, Kindred noted regulatory headwinds in Belgium as having an impact on the firm’s operations in the market, namely related to the establishment of improved responsible gambling processes.

Looking at the US, revenue increased to £8m while the company reduced its underlying EBITDA to a loss of £5.5m.

In terms of the group’s B2B operations, its B2B Relax Gaming subsidiary returned a 90% YoY increase in revenue.

Elsewhere, underlying EBITDA jumped 102% YoY from £24.2m to £49.4m while post-tax profit increased from £6.4m to £25.6m.

Henrik Tjärnström, Kindred Group CEO, said: “In the first quarter of 2023, we have seen encouraging improvements in both revenue and profitability, and the underlying EBITDA margin increased to 16%.

“The previously communicated initiatives to optimise costs have been implemented during the quarter, but there is a lag before we see the full impact in the numbers.”