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Evolution’s Takeover Saga Continues
CasinoWizard recently reported on Kenneth Darts’ attempt to possibly make Evolution a private company.
Well, the story has now developed further.
Candle Lake has placed a bid for the remaining shares
Evolution is suddenly a little closer to potentially leaving the Stockholm Stock Exchange, but it’s far from certain that it will actually happen.
This story centres on Candle Lake, an investment company controlled by billionaire investor Kenneth Dart. After buying more Evolution shares, Candle Lake now owns about 31.6% of the company, with total economic exposure of just over 32%.
Under Swedish takeover rules, crossing 30% means Candle Lake has to make an offer for the remaining shares. So, it has now offered shareholders SEK 695 per share.
Here’s the strange part: Evolution’s shares are currently worth more than that on the stock market.
The share price was around SEK 754 when the offer was announced, meaning shareholders can currently get more by selling on the market than by accepting Candle Lake’s offer.
That makes the bid look rather unexciting for shareholders. Normally, when someone wants to buy a company, they offer a premium to encourage people to sell. Candle Lake, however, says SEK 695 reflects the price it paid for its latest Evolution shares.
Does Candle Lake actually want to buy the whole company?
That’s still unclear.
Candle Lake has said it considers Evolution a well-managed, highly profitable business and doesn’t currently plan major changes to its management, operations, or employees.
If Candle Lake eventually gets more than 90% of the shares, though, it says it would seek to delist Evolution from Nasdaq Stockholm and take the company private.
But getting there could be difficult. If shareholders reject the SEK 695 offer, Candle Lake can simply keep its existing stake. It has fulfilled its legal obligation by making the offer, even if very few shareholders accept it.
The deadline for shareholders to decide is 15 September 2026.
The saga continues
To summarise: Candle Lake has been forced to make an offer because it bought more than 30% of Evolution. But because its offer is below the current share price, shareholders don’t have much reason to accept it right now.
By mid-September, we’ll have a much better idea of whether this is the start of Evolution’s journey toward becoming a private company or just a curious detour along the way.
