Kenneth Dart’s Cayman Islands-based investment vehicle, Candle Lake Limited, has formally announced a mandatory public cash offer for Swedish live casino giant Evolution AB.
The offer prices Evolution shares at SEK 695 each and was triggered after Candle Lake’s holding in the company crossed the 30% threshold.
Candle Lake purchased 2,050,000 Evolution shares on 24 July, pushing its direct holding to approximately 30.02% and activating the mandatory bid requirement.
The obligation arose under Chapter 3, Section 1 of the Swedish Act on Public Takeovers on the Stock Market, which dates to 2006.
As of the announcement date, Candle Lake holds and controls 59,798,619 shares and votes in Evolution, representing approximately 31.56% of all outstanding shares and votes.
The offer values Evolution at approximately SEK 131.7 billion, based on all 189,447,977 outstanding shares, excluding the company’s 9,778,636 treasury shares held at announcement.
The offer price carries a premium of approximately 1.6% over the volume-weighted average trading price of SEK 683.8 during the 20 trading days up to and including 24 July 2026.
However, it also represents a discount of approximately 5.7% compared to the closing share price of SEK 737.2 recorded on 12 August 2026, making the offer appear modest by market standards.
Candle Lake made clear in its statement that it has no intention of acquiring Evolution outright, and the bid was made purely to satisfy its legal obligations under Swedish takeover rules.
Dart, who is well known for investing in so-called sin stocks including tobacco and gambling, is also Flutter’s largest investor and is noted for preferring non-controlling positions.
Following the announcement, Nasdaq Stockholm placed Evolution under observation status, a routine measure applied when companies become subject to a mandatory takeover bid.
An offer document was expected on or around 14 August, with the acceptance period running from 17 August through to 15 September 2026.
Settlement is expected to commence on 23 September, with the consideration fully secured through cash, liquid securities, and credit facilities.
Roschier Advokatbyrå is acting as legal adviser on the transaction, which is conditional only on regulatory clearances that Candle Lake has assessed as already received.
Evolution’s board is required to publish its statement on the offer no later than two weeks before the acceptance period closes, adding further scrutiny to a company that recently reported second-quarter net revenues of €517.8 million, down 1.2% year on year.
