Sportingbet finalises £8.5m dealsyx


Sportingbet has completed the acquisition of both Danish operators Danbook and Scandic Bookmakers for £8.5m, comprising the cash sum of £4m and £0.5m of Sportingbet shares at completion, with a further cash sum of £4m subject to the satisfaction of certain performance conditions. The acquisition has been funded by a new three year £8m facility with Barclays Bank PLC. The loan is repayable in annual instalments, commencing January 2013. Sportingbet already operates licensed businesses in Denmark under both its Sportingbet and Centrebet brands, and the combination of these businesses with Danbook and Scandic will give Sportingbet scale in an important, regulated market.


Motcomb Estates Limited representing Aldersgate, added: “The proposed acquisition of Arena is an endorsement of the view held by Aldersgate that British horseracing and racecourses represent a sound, long-term invest- ment. We believe that the opportunity to share the operating expertise of Arena and our existing racecourse investment under one umbrella man- agement organisation will benefit all customer groups and participants in the sport.”


announced that it was reviewing possible options to increase value for its shareholders, which might include a possible offer for the company. I am pleased to say that this review has resulted in this offer from Aldersgate at 44.25 pence per share. I and the other Arena Directors consider that this represents a fair and reasonable opportunity to realise value for Arena shares that is not currently available in the market.” Stephane Nahum of


Arena owns seven race- courses which stage around 26 per cent of all racing fix- tures held each year in the UK, while Northern Racing operates ten racecourses across England and Wales, representing around 16 per cent of all the UK’s horseracing fixtures. While a combined company would supply 42 per cent of the fixtures might give the OFT cause for worry and step in, a combined 17 race- courses is only just over a quarter of the number of horseracing facilities in the UK and, as such, theoreti- cally open to a great deal of competition and the acqui- sition is just the first in a wave of consolidation in the sector.


appointments corporate


Betfred has recruited Phil Siers to head up the


company’s Totepool opera- tion from April. He replaces Jason Brautigam who is leaving to pursue other interests. Betfred chief executive Trevor Beaumont commented: “Jason had made known his intention some time ago to step down from his role at the end of the financial year. He has done an excellent job during his time with Totepool and will continue to do so to ensure a seam- less transition.”


Gaming and leisure


company Samvo has appointed a new head of trading and sportsbook as it steps up its ambitious plans for 2012. Jesper Jensen, who also takes on responsibility for the group’s trading division including liability and risk control, makes the move from gaming software company, EveryMatrix,


which he co-founded in 2008. His role also includes the development of new and existing betting prod- ucts.


Jensen commented: “Samvo appealed to me for a number of reasons - its culture, spirit and dynamic team match my own work ethic. The opportunity to be part of such a forward


focusing company with a passion for change was too good to miss.”


JESPER JENSEN Simon Ellen has been


appointed non executive chairman of Racecourse Media Group (RMG), the umbrella organisation for the 30 racecourses which hold an interest in Racing UK, Turf TV and GBI Racing. Ellen said: “I am


very much looking forward to working with stakehold- ers and a management team that have, together, developed a very success- ful media rights business focussed on the delivery of a high-quality racing product, the benefits of which are channelled directly back into racing.”


OpenBet has recruited


Tim Kennedy to be VP of sales at OpenBet Retail. Kennedy joins from Bar- crest Group where he was sales and commercial director. At OpenBet Retail he will focus on driving the sales strategy forward with the major customers and manage the roll out of the OpenBetPromote product in the UK and to large inter- national bookmakers abroad. He said: “As the retail market quickly evolves, OpenBet, with its Promote product, a strong pipeline and the right choice of partners, is ideally placed to shape how it might look in the future.”


Filling the gap left by Siers


at SIS is George Irvine, who has taken over as MD for the LBO Division. Irvine, who joined SIS in 1986 prior to its launch in 1987, has been responsible for the


Production and Data divi- sion and will continue with that role as part of his posi- tion. SIS has also


announced that Paul Baker is joining as director of strategic business develop- ment from RBS, where he has been one of SIS’ major relationship managers for the past nine years.


GEORGE IRVINE Stockholm-based Ihre


Consulting AB has announced the appoint- ment of Tomas Eliasson as its marketing director. Ihre Consulting primarily offers affiliate marketing expert- ise, acting as a broker/ agent but also traditional consultancy services. “Ihre Consulting are very pleased to finally have Tomas on board as his rep- utation and accomplish- ments in the industry speaks for themselves,” said Edward Ihre, owner of Ihre Consulting.


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