The Tabcorp Holdings Limited (ASX: TAH) share price has outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) by a long shot over the last 12 months.
Since this time last year, the ASX 200 has gained 20.93%.
Meanwhile, the Tabcorp share price has soared 46.65%. It's currently trading at $5.04.
So, what's been driving the Tabcorp share price to perform better than most of its ASX 200 peers? Let's take a look.
Why has the Tabcorp share price outperformed?
The last 12 months have seen the Tabcorp share price boosted numerous times. Interestingly, the company's biggest daily gain came after it addressed media speculation on 6 November 2020.
Then, the company rebutted media reports that private equity firms and high-profile bookmaker Matthew Tripp were interested in acquiring Tabcorp.
Late on 5 November, The Australian reported a private equity consortium wished to purchase the then-struggling Tabcorp, valuing the business at around $9 billion. At the time, the company was reportedly worth $7.7 billion.
The publication also reported another group wanted to purchase Tabcorp's wagering business.
However, Tabcorp hit back at the reports by simply stating, "Tabcorp is not aware of, and has not received, any proposal in respect of the company or its businesses".
Despite the rumours being refuted, the Tabcorp share price shot 15.8% higher.
Then, on 2 February, the market heard more media speculation. This time, reports claimed a party was interested in purchasing Tabcorp's wagering arm which is attached to its media business.
This time, Tabcorp responded positively to the rumours, saying, "Tabcorp confirms that it has received a number of unsolicited approaches and proposals in relation to a potential transaction involving Tabcorp's Wagering and Media business".
Once again, the company's share price surged 8.7%.
Tabcorp did end up deciding to split its wagering and media segment from the rest of its business. However, it didn't sell it.
As it stands, Tabcorp is planning to spin off its Lotteries and Keno segment and focus only on its wagering and media business next year.
