Candle Lake passes share threshold and makes offer to buy Evolution for $13.8bn

Price would surpass that of the Los Angeles Lakers, which was the most expensive sports team sale ever

Reuters is reporting that Cayman Islands-registered investment firm Candle Lake has made an offer to buy Sweden-based live-dealer pioneer Evolution for $13.8bn.

The offer by Candle Lake, owned by billionaire Kenneth Dart, puts the value of Evolution at 695 crowns per share, 5.7 per cent lower than where Evolution’s share price closed on Wednesday at 737.2 crowns.

However, Candle ⁠Lake said it did not intend to buy all of Evolution’s shares. The investment firm announced last month that it had secured a shareholding of slightly above 30 per cent of the shares and votes in Evolution, which automatically triggers an obligation to launch an offer for the remaining shares.

The offer surpasses the $12.5bn that venture capitalist John Kusher and former Disney CEO Bob Iger recently paid for the Los Angeles Lakers, the most expensive sports team sale ever.

Candle Lake started investing in Evolution in 2024.