Candle Lake, controlled by Kenneth Dart, has acquired 2.05 million shares in Evolution. After the transaction, the holding, together with holdings of related companies, amounts to 59.8 million shares, corresponding to about 30.02 percent of the shares and votes in the company.

This means the threshold for a mandatory bid has been crossed. Candle Lake must now, within four weeks, either submit a mandatory offer for the remaining shares in Evolution or reduce its holding to below 30 percent of the votes.

According to the disclosure notice, the threshold was crossed through the share acquisition in combination with existing holdings being transferred from the related companies Spring Mountain Investments and LBS Limited.

All companies are ultimately owned by Kenneth Dart. In addition, LBS Limited has a cash-settled equity swap agreement corresponding to just over 4 million Evolution shares. This means the total economic exposure is just over 32 percent.

Kenneth Dart emerged as a new major shareholder in Evolution in August 2024 and has since steadily increased his stake. He also holds a large stake in gambling operator Flutter.