Swedish online gambling operator Cherry AB is the takeover target of a private equity group whose members include the CEO of online gambling rival Betsson AB.

On Tuesday, Cherry confirmed that it had received an all-cash SEK9.2b (US$1b) takeover bid from European Entertainment Intressenter BidCo AB, a consortium whose members include Bridgepoint Europe VI Fund, Betsson AB CEO Pontus Lindwall and Cherry founder/chairman Morten Klein.

The consortium currently owns no Cherry shares, although its individual members collectively own a roughly 47.4% stake in the firm. The consortium has reportedly received acceptance of its offer by investors holding a further 11.6% of Cherry’s shares, bringing the total number of shares ready to take the plunge to 59.1%, which represents 66.5% of voting shares.

Given Klein’s involvement in the bid, Cherry has appointed an independent bid committee that is recommending that shareholders accept the offer, which represents a 20% premium to Cherry’s share price on the Nasdaq Stockholm as of December 17.