Stocks Tracker: May M&A murmurs send shares skyrocketing while revenues rise in Q1

Flutter Entertainment 3 May closing: 8,290p 31 May closing: 9,712p Peak May closing: 9,710p  The rich get richer, remarked Percy Shelley in A Defence of Poetry in the mid-1800s. And while this may not be entirely true for Dublin-headquartered Flutter Entertainment, which boasted a share price well above 11,000p earlier this year, the month of May was one of consolidated growth from beginning to end. The operator giant had a relatively uneventful month, bar the release of its Q1 2022 results at the start of the month, along with a couple of notable hires including naming PokerStars exec Asaf Noifeld as its new managing director of casino for FanDuel, and former Paddy Power advertising manager Karen O’Rourke as chief of staff for CEO Peter Jackson. Perhaps, no news is good news as the adage goes, as despite some dips, Flutter saw its share price rocket from 8,290p on Tuesday 3 May to 9,712p by the end of the month. Don’t rock the boat and you won’t fall in. And even without the rising tide to rise them all, given the cost-of-living crisis in the UK, Flutter has navigated May with aplomb. The FTSE 100 firm posted a 6% year-on-year (YoY) increase in revenue to £1.5bn for Q1 2022 on Wednesday 4 May, with the modest rise being warmly received by the market. US revenue leaped 45% to £429m while the group’s Australian division revenue grew 8%. Downturns in the UK and Ireland did little to upset the market, with Flutter’s share price closing out at 8,716p, up from 8,290p on Tuesday 3 May. An uncharacteristic drop on Monday 9 May to 7,996p was the only major slight for May, as the remainder of the month returned sustained, incremental share price growth for the company.

Better Collective 2 May closing: SEK152 31 May closing: SEK148.50 Peak May closing: SEK156.20  Elsewhere in the world of M&A machinations, Better Collective moved to dismiss speculation linking it with a £500m acquisition of Spotlight Sports Group (SSG) on Monday 9 May, leaving the market to revolt in disappointment. A Sunday Times report noted the Danish firm was in pole position to acquire the Racing Post parent company, with SSG having hired bankers at PJT Partners to oversee an auction of the business. While Better Collective’s share price had been slipping during the first week of the month, from SEK152 to SEK147.60, the reopening of the market on Monday heralded bad news for the affiliate. The firm’s share price fell to SEK138.20 on Monday 9 May, dipping again to SEK138 by Tuesday 10 May. There were shoots of recovery, with the group’s share price reaching SEK146.50 by Monday 16 May, but statis was the name of the game as even a 74% YoY rise in Q1 2022 revenue, with US revenue rising 435% YoY, did little to shake up Better Collective’s stock. On Wednesday 18 May, the group reported a Q1 2022 revenue of €67.4m, but the share price remained stoic, closing out at SEK145.20, up from SEK145 on Tuesday 17 May. Another blip saw Better Collective’s share price dip to SEK140.90 on Wednesday 25 May, although the firm did recover by the month’s close. Catena Media 2 May closing: SEK45.29 31 May closing: SEK42.60 Peak May closing: SEK46.21  Stockholm-listed affiliate Catena Media recovered from a post-results dip in the market with the announcement of the potential sale of one of its key brands to ensure May wasn’t one of malaise for the firm. A steady share price for the first couple of weeks of the month, including a monthly high of SEK46.21 on Wednesday 4 May, saw the firm’s share price keep its head above the SEK40 waterline. However, on Wednesday 18 May, in line with the disclosure of the group’s Q1 2022 results, its share price took a significant hit. Despite posting a record revenue of €45.2m, up 11% YoY and a flat EBITDA of €25.6m, a 37% downturn in cash flow did not fill the market with confidence as the company’s share price dipped to SEK37.50. A further dip to SEK37 on Thursday 19 May had Catena Media close to its 52-week low of SEK35.40, but a strategic review into the potential sale of its AskGamblers brand announced on Friday 20 May sent its share price rising. The affiliate revealed it had been approached by unnamed parties with an interest in acquiring AskGamblers, as well as other “global brands” and assets in its financial trading segment. The firm’s share price rose to SEK42 following the announcement, remaining steady for the rest of the month. LeoVegas 2 May closing: SEK60.30 31 May closing: SEK60.10 Peak May closing: SEK60.80  An astronomical rise in share price driven by a $607m offer for LeoVegas from US firm MGM Resorts on Monday 2 May set the Stockholm-listed operator up for a magnificent May. MGM Resorts’ bid was 44% above LeoVegas’ closing price of SEK42.32 on Friday 29 April and is set to be financed with existing cash, with LeoVegas’ board of directors having unanimously recommended that shareholders accept the offer. LeoVegas’ stock closed out at SEK60.30 in the first day of May trading and remained above the SEK59.90 mark for the rest of the month. The acceptance period for the offer is expected to begin on or around 3 June 2022 and expire on or around 30 August 2022. The following day, Tuesday 3 May, the operator posted a 2% YoY increase in revenue to €98.5m for Q1 2022, along with EDBITDA of €14.1m. LeoVegas’ stock moved to SEK60.10 by close of business before rising to a monthly high of SEK60.80 by Friday 6 May. On Thursday 12 May, the mobile-first operator detailed a series of proposals ahead of the potential takeover by MGM Resorts. The two headline proposals are the removal of an expected shareholder dividend and employee incentive programme. This sent the share price dipping from SEK60.80 to SEK60.20, which then proceeded to slip slightly, falling to SEK59.90 by Monday 23 May. However, closing out the month at SEK60.10 set the operator in a healthy stead, with the US’ M&A appetite proving dividend for CEO Gustaf Hagman and his team.