Candle Lake Limited, an investment firm led by Kenneth Dart, is moving forward with a mandatory public cash offer to acquire all remaining shares of Evolution AB. The proposed offer is set at SEK695 ($72.89) per share, valuing Evolution at around SEK131.7 billion based on its 189.45 million outstanding shares, excluding approximately 9.78 million treasury shares held by the company.
For those shareholders not currently under Candle Lake’s control, the total value of the offer is estimated at SEK90.1 billion. This acquisition follows recent market transactions that raised Candle Lake's stake above the required bid threshold dictated by Swedish takeover laws.
On July 24, Candle Lake bolstered its investment by increasing its stake in Evolution to 30% after buying an additional 2,050,000 shares at a maximum price of SEK695 each. Following this latest acquisition, Candle Lake and its affiliated entities now hold 59,798,619 shares of Evolution, equating to about 31.56% of the total outstanding shares. This accumulation prompted the mandatory offer, and the entity holds indirect exposure to roughly 4,037,416 additional shares, leading to total ownership exposure of approximately 32.04%.
The established offer price reflects Evolution’s closing share price on July 24, 2026, which is approximately 1.6% higher than the 20-day volume-weighted average closing price from that date. However, it represents a discount of about 5.7% compared to Evolution’s closing price on August 12, 2026, and a 3.3% discount relative to the 20-day VWAP at that time.
The acceptance period for shareholders will likely be from August 17 until September 15, 2026, with settlement expected to commence on September 23, 2026.
Candle Lake has characterized Evolution as a well-run and profitable company and expressed no intentions to make significant changes to its operations, management, workforce, or operational locations. However, if ownership surpasses 90%, Candle Lake plans to delist Evolution from Nasdaq Stockholm and take the company private. The offer is fully financed through available cash reserves, liquid assets, and committed credit lines, with Candle Lake identifying itself as a purely financial investment vehicle without operational activities.
Candle Lake started its share acquisition in Evolution in mid-2024, purchasing a total of 10.46 million shares in the six months leading up to the compulsory offer. According to Nasdaq Stockholm regulations, Evolution’s board is required to respond to the offer within two weeks before the acceptance window closes.
Just last month, Evolution terminated its planned merger with Galaxy Gaming, a provider of table games and casino technology. CEO Martin Carlesund explained that the merger wasn’t essential for the business but confirmed that Evolution would continue its existing business relationship with Galaxy Gaming. This decision follows challenges faced by Evolution regarding its UK license, which was nearly revoked due to ongoing regulatory scrutiny that discovered its live casino games were being offered on unlicensed sites accessible to UK consumers.
