Flutter To Buy 5% FanDuel Stake Back From Boyd Gaming

Flutter Entertainment PLC is buying back the last 5% of FanDuel it doesn't currently own from the holder of that sliver, brick-and-mortar casino operator Boyd Gaming Corp.


- Flutter Entertainment is buying the staying 5% of FanDuel from Boyd Gaming for around $2 billion, aiming for full ownership of the leading U.S. online sportsbook.
- The offer implies a $35 billion assessment for FanDuel, highlighting its market dominance over competitors like DraftKings and highlighting Flutter's tactical focus on U.S. operations.


The news was initially reported on X by Mark Kleinman, organization editor at Sky News.


Las Vegas-based Boyd and Flutter then announced the news officially, with Boyd stating it participated in a "definitive contract" to sell its 5% stake in FanDuel to Flutter for $1.755 billion in cash.


The transaction would give Flutter total ownership of FanDuel, at least for the time being (more on that listed below).


Boyd included that the offer is expected to close in the 3rd quarter of 2025, pending regulative approvals. The casino operator stated it prepares to utilize the net proceeds of the deal to decrease its financial obligation.


"This deal unlocks the incredible latent value that our financial investment in FanDuel has actually developed for our Company," stated Keith Smith, president and president of Boyd, in a news release. "As a result, we are in a significantly stronger monetary position to continue executing our strategy of purchasing our residential or commercial properties, pursuing growth opportunities, returning capital to our shareholders, and preserving a strong balance sheet."


Exclusive: Flutter Entertainment, the group behind Paddy Power and Betfair, remains in advanced talk with buy an additional 5pc stake in FanDuel, the US-based sports betting company, from Boyd Gaming in an offer anticipated to be worth near to $2bn. A contract could be revealed this week.


The value of the 5% stake recommends that FanDuel, the biggest online betting websites in the United States, could be worth around $35 billion. Flutter said the "attractive suggested evaluation" was around $31 billion.


Whatever the assessment, it's an excellent bit more than the current, around $22 billion market capitalization of FanDuel's chief competitor, DraftKings. That gap could, among other things, talk to the Flutter subsidiary's more powerful position in the U.S. market.


"The partnership between Boyd and FanDuel has been an impressive success for both companies," Smith said in journalism release. "FanDuel has actually become the nation's clear leader in online sports-betting, while Boyd has had the ability to leverage this collaboration to beneficially take part in the quick growth of sports wagering throughout the nation."


Boyd got its 5% stake in FanDuel in 2018 as part of a partnership to pursue sports wagering and iGaming opportunities in the U.S. Boyd also serves as a "market access" lorry for FanDuel in specific states, such as Indiana, where online sports betting operators require ties to a brick-and-mortar center.


As part of Thursday's announcement, Boyd said it and FanDuel would scrap their existing market-access deals and get in into brand-new ones that go through 20238.


"The arrangements will also supply Boyd with a repaired charge per state from FanDuel's mobile sports-betting operations in Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana and Pennsylvania, as well as FanDuel's online gambling establishment operations in Pennsylvania, upon the close of this deal," added. "FanDuel will also continue to run Boyd's retail sportsbooks outside of Nevada through mid-2026, after which time Boyd will presume responsibility for these operations."


Boyd said the new market-access agreements would indicate that its online gaming section will produce $50 million to $55 million in operating income and adjusted EBITDAR this year, and then roughly $30 million for 2026.


Fox in the FanDuel home


Flutter, meanwhile, trumpeted that Thursday's deal (paid for with extra financial obligation) will give it 100% ownership of FanDuel, "the premier property in the US sports betting and iGaming market."


Furthermore, Flutter said the new market-access offers would contribute annual operating cost savings of around $65 million.


"The cost savings are anticipated to be created from July 1, 2025, and even more underpin Flutter's confidence in the long-term success profile of its US service, showing the capability to help alleviate both current and future tax boosts," the company included.


Those "recent and future tax increases" consist of Illinois adding a per-bet tax for sportsbook operators and New Jersey upping its levy on online betting profits.


Still, with FanDuel's strong existence in the country, Flutter continues to lean into its U.S. operations. The company's "worldwide functional headquarters" remain in New york city and its shares are now listed on the New York Stock Exchange.


"Our acquisition of FanDuel in 2018 is among the most transformational events in our Group's history, with its natural competitive advantages integrated with access to Flutter Edge abilities driving excellent development to end up being the well-established and clear leader in US online sports wagering and iGaming," Flutter CEO Peter Jackson said in a news release. "I am actually pleased to drive future worth for our shareholders by increasing our ownership of FanDuel to 100%. Boyd have actually been fantastic partners for FanDuel, and we are pleased to be extending our important strategic collaboration through to 2038."


Nevertheless, Flutter has another FanDuel ownership problem hanging over its head.


TV company Fox Corp. continues to hold an alternative to purchase 18.6% of FanDuel at a cost the two business battled over. Following arbitration, the cost of the 18.6% stake is now approximately $4.3 billion, and the option to purchase ends in Dec.

.