Kindred shareholder urges Swedish gaming group to consider sale

(Reuters) - Swedish online gaming group Kindred's shares rose 5% on Wednesday after a major shareholder told the board to consider a sale of the company.

New York-based hedge fund Corvex Management, which holds more than 10% of Kindred shares, said it had urged the board to hire a financial adviser to look at strategic alternatives, including the potential value that could be achieved via sale or a business combination.

"We believe Kindred has built a strategic position in the rapidly growing global online gaming space," said Corvex,

"A fully informed Board will be in the best position to weigh any strategic alternatives, compared with Kindred's stand-alone business plan," the hedge fund said.

Kindred told Reuters it had noted the shareholder's statement and said it welcomed a dialogue with all its owners, but did not have any further comment.

ABG Sundal Collier analyst Oscar Rönnkvist said Kindred should be an attractive asset in the consolidating online gaming market, especially for U.S. companies such as Florida-based digital sports platform Fanatics.

"While Kindred has a proprietary developed platform, it also has market access to 11 US states and a licence in the Canadian province Ontario," Rönnkvist said.

He said there were also other potential buyers and strategic decisions Kindred could make.

Pareto Securities analyst Georg Attling said the news was not a big surprise as the ownership of Swedish online gaming companies has shifted from Swedish institutions to foreign investors over the last few years.

Kindred's Swedish peer LeoVegas on Monday received a $607-million bid from U.S. casino operator MGM Resorts International.

(Reporting by Marie Mannes in Gdansk; editing by Milla Nissi and Jane Merriman)