Macquarie-led group in bid for Australian gaming giant

A consortium led by Australian investment bank Macquarie on Wednesday made a surprise US$5.5 billion bid for Tatts Group, throwing into question a planned merger between the gambling giant and rival Tabcorp.Tatts said it was assessing the unsolicited offer from the consortium -- which includes First State Superannuation Scheme, North Haven Infrastructure Partners and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co -- although its directors were still supportive of the Tabcorp merger.Tabcorp and Tatts announced in October they were combining forces to create a powerhouse taking bets on horse racing and sports events across the country."Tatts has not yet formed a view on how the indicative proposal (from Macquarie) compares to the proposed Tabcorp merger," Tatts said in a statement."The Tatts board and its advisers will assess the indicative proposal including its terms, underlying financial assumptions and conditions, and will provide a further update on the outcome of that review as soon as practicable.Shares in Tatts closed 8.45 percent higher at Aus$4.49 on Wednesday.Under the Aus$7.3 billion proposal, Tatts is valued at between Aus$4.40 and Aus$5.00 per share. The Tabcorp merger valued Tatts at Aus$4.34 per share.No comment was immediately available from Macquarie.Tatts Group has a betting shop network in the states of Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania and also operates a lotteries business. Tabcorp Holdings runs similar operations in Victoria and New South Wales, and has a broadcasting and media arm built around Sky Racing.Both companies also compete in online gambling.