Matthew Tripp has nearly $140 million reasons to strike on Tabcorp's wagering business.Speculation is running white hot that the legendary bookie (and Melbourne Storm chairman) has some well-advanced (and increasingly circulated) plans to merge the spun-off division with the ASX-listed BetMakers.No doubt Tabcorp’s board, already in receipt of two other offers for various parts of the business, would rather he got on with it and bid. But hey, with so much moolah on the line, surely it’s only a matter of time.
At last month’s BetMakers annual meeting shareholders overwhelmingly granted Tripp, under the terms of a consultancy agreement, a cornucopia of unlisted options and performance rights in the ASX-listed company.There were 32 million unlisted options and 67 million unlisted performance rights. All of which would vest upon Tripp’s delivery within three years of a major “strategic deal” that doubled BetMakers’ revenue and EBITDA. Which a merger with part of Tabcorp undoubtedly would.RELATED QUOTESTAHTabcorp$5.120 2.40%1 year1 dayMay 20Nov 20May 213.0004.2005.400Updated: May 26, 2021 – 8.12am. Data is 20 mins delayed.View TAH related articles It hasn’t been all one-way. Tripp, who made his (first) fortune turning Sportsbet into the nation’s second-largest bookie behind Tabcorp, in February spent $25 million in a special placement for 35.7 million BetMakers shares at 70¢ a pop.Still, at Tuesday’s $1.60 share price, he stands to make $138 million in (paper) profit from options and performance rights. And more, if BetMakers’ shares keep rising the way they have (they’re up 20 per cent this month alone).Tripp’s options bonanza was recommended, the notice of meeting stated, to incentivise him to deliver the “transformational” deal that would enable their vesting. And there’s no doubt that’s precisely what the package has done.If fully vested, these rights would give Tripp 14.2 per cent of Betfair, or some 4.6 per cent of the combined entity, assuming BetMakers is folded into Tabcorp’s wagering business (conservatively valued at $3.5 billion minus debt) under the mooted nil-merger premium.I
t’s a great deal any way you look at it. For Tripp anyway.
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