Trouble at the track as Betr bid to sell $40m stake to Entain fails

afr.com:

It’s one step forward, two steps back at Betr, the News Corp-backed wagering group, where a Barrenjoey-advised sales process has stalled.

Street Talk first reported in May that the online bookmaker had put itself on the block after receiving inbound interest. News Corp had invested around $50 million in the company, which only launched last year and is backed by high-profile businessman Matthew Tripp, but more recently began to distance itself from the business.

The Murdoch family-controlled media conglomerate point-blank told analysts in the United States that the company would not be tipping any additional funds into Betr.

There has been plenty of activity in the Australian wagering market in the past 12 months. Getty

Sources close to the discussions have now confirmed that Betr was in well-advanced talks to sell a minority stake in the business to Entain, the London-listed wagering giant which operates the Ladbrokes and Ned’s brands.

Those discussions had Entain investing around $40 million into Betr, sources said, largely to buy out shareholders close to Tripp. Entain, however, ultimately decided not to proceed with the transaction.

There’s been plenty of action for Entain locally in any case. The company trumped Tabcorp to acquire the management rights to New Zealand’s sports betting monopoly in March, following a review run by former Racing NSW chairman John Messara, which recommended changes to how the racing and wagering industry operates in the country.

Still, as Street Talk has previously reported, an irate New York-headquartered investor might be making Entain management think twice about trying to snap up more local assets. In June, Eminence Capital wrote to Entain roundly criticising the company for a