SHARES in Ladbrokes owner Entain sank yesterday afternoon after Draftkings said it won't be making a final bid to buy the gambling giant.

Draftkings had offered 2,800p a share in cash and stock for Entain back in September, a $22.4bn (£16bn) offer which represented a 43 per cent premium over the company's share price and improved upon an earlier 2,500p bid which has been rebuffed by the FTSE-listed firm.

However, to move forward with the purchase, Draftkings needed to give a firm offer by 19 October, but it missed the deadline as the parties struggled to agree over the governance structure for BetMGM, the joint venture between Entain and US casinos giant MGM.

Jason Robins Draftkings CEO yesterday said "after several discussions with Entain leadership, Draftkings has decided that it will not make a firm offer for Entain at this time.

It will be unable to make another offer to purchase Entain for at least six months.

Entain, which owns UK high street betting shop staples Coral and Ladbrokes as well as Foxy Bingo and partypoker, saw its shares recover somewhat in afternoon trading following Draftkings' announcement, but still closed down 6.3 per cent to 2,002p.

Entain said its board "strongly believes" in its future prospects and that its management would focus on the company's growth targets.

It is the second time a US firm has approached Entain over the past year, after US joint venture partner MGM saw a £8bn move rebuffed.

UK betting firms have been heavily targeted by US rivals over the past year amid a rapid growth in sports betting across the US due to relaxing federal laws across many states.

(c) 2021 City A.M., source Newspaper