Investing.com – DraftKings stock (NASDAQ:DKNG) climbed 5% in early trading on Tuesday after the online sports betting operator called off what was considered an expensive proposal to buy U.K.-based Entain, the parent of gambling firm Ladbrokes (LON:LCL).
Entain (LON:ENT) traded 7% lower in London trading. Until yesterday, the stock was up around 12% since the deal was first made public on September 21.
In the same period, DraftKings stock lost around 17% in value.
It was supposed to make a firm offer as per the U.K. takeover rules but did not do so.
DraftKings’ September bid was a sweetened proposal that it made after Entain rejected the first one. It was willing to pay 2,800 pence per Entain share comprising 630 pence in cash and the balance payable in new DraftKings shares. The offer was a 46% premium to Entain's closing share price on September 20 and amounted to over 16 billion pounds ($22 billion).