If Kindred, the Malta-based online gaming operator, had not already decided to exit the U.S. market, that decision would have been reached independently by La Française des Jeux (FDJ), the French gaming operator that recently tendered a €2.6 billion ($2.8 billion) purchase offer for Kindred.
So said FDJ Chairwoman and CEO Stéphane Pallez, Gambling Insider disclosed March 24.
The executive said there was “an alignment of the planets” after FDJ made its offer that included Kindred’s decision to leave the U.S. after it conducted a strategic review. The review highlighted the company’s problems competing in the market without a huge investment to build up a database—an investment without a guaranteed or even likely return.
Apparently, several other competitors have reached much the same decision about the difficulties competing against U.S. gaming firms such as Wynn Resorts.
Pallez told Gambling Insider, “I think the fact that Kindred announced its withdrawal from the U.S. market did contribute to the alignment and to our capacity to make the deal. I think it was quite a rational conclusion. At this point, there was no real visible perspective of the benefits of their investment in the U.S..”
Had that not happened, said Pallez, “we would have closed the U.S. markets ourselves probably.” That the company had already decided to do so made it easier for FDJ, she said.
