Fox loses out to Flutter in battle over gaming firm
>
Fox loses to Flutter in betting company battle: US court ends long-running legal battle
Gambling giant Flutter has claimed victory after a US court ends a long-running legal battle with Rupert Murdoch’s Fox.
The pair have been embroiled in a dispute since April 2021 over the price Fox will pay if it buys an 18.6 percent stake in FanDuel, which is largely owned by Flutter.
The court ruled in favor of Flutter, arguing that the stake should be valued at FanDuel’s current market price, rather than the much cheaper amount Flutter paid for its own share of the company in December 2020.
Protracted battle: The pair has been embroiled in a dispute since April 2021 over the price Fox will pay if it buys an 18.6 percent stake in FanDuel, which is largely owned by Flutter
The decision is based on FanDuel’s current valuation of $20 billion (£17.6 billion), bringing the value of Fox’s option to $3.7 billion (£3.25 billion).
The ruling, announced late Friday night, means the FTSE100-listed company could earn billions from a deal. Analysts believe that the company could then pass part or all of the amount to shareholders.
Fox has ten years to decide whether to go through with the deal.
Flutter boss Peter Jackson said: “The ruling reaffirms the confidence we had in our position — and gives certainty about what it would cost Fox to buy into this company, should they want to.”
Fox said the court’s ruling gave the company the option to acquire a “significant equity stake in the leading U.S. online sports betting company.”