Euro 2012 increases turnover Business
European LBO operator Betbull has posted a 4.6 per cent increase in betting stakes for the first half of 2012 to 39m euro (£31.2m) but saw net gaming revenue drop 1.5 per cent to 6.7m euro (£5.4m). The firm said: “The European Football Championship in June contributed to the higher turnover on the one hand, but overall the results didn’t support a high gross gaming revenue.”
TURF TV, HALF OWNED BY
TIMEWEAVE, SHOWS RACING FROM COURSES SUCH AS ASCOT
appointments corporate
the UK-facing
quicksilver.co.uk, has announced that Robbie Cooke will take over from Dick McIlwain as chief executive at the turn of the year. Cooke said of his new role: “Tatts is an iconic Australian business and the opportunity to join and lead its highly capable team is very exciting. With its stable of leading brands, quality licences and strongly performing operations, Tatts is extremely well positioned to build on its retail networks and expand its online base. The opportunity to return to a business that formed a large part of my working career, reconnect with many former colleagues and apply my online experiences to a different sector make this role truly unique.”
Australian gaming operator Tatts Group, which also owns ROBBIE COOKE
Lewis makes bid to take over
ACQUISITION T
imeweave, the company that owns half of Turf TV opera- tor Amalga-
mated Racing (AMRAC), is set to be taken over after a bid from major share- holder Mayfair Capital Investment, run by British billionaire Joe Lewis. Timeweave, which emerged from the ashes of Alphameric once it had sold its retail business to OpenBet, also owns a 49.99 per cent shareholding in programme maker DCD Media plc and wholly-owns sports corporate risk busi- ness SportingWins. Mayfair, which already owns 29.9 per cent of Timeweave’s stock and has an appointed member on the board in the shape of Richard McGuire, made a bid to acquire the rest of the shares in an offer that would value the firm at approximately £49.6m. Mayfair laid out its reasons for the move: “Timeweave’s principal assets comprise cash and two 50 per cent invest- ments. Although the Board of Timeweave is currently considering opportunities to invest Timeweave’s cash, Timeweave does not currently carry on a signif- icant stand alone trading business. Timeweave is
also currently defending a legal claim of up to £15.48m in relation to a business disposal. Mayfair does not believe that Timeweave is suitable to be a publicly traded company and is therefore offering share- holders the opportunity to exit their current invest- ment at a premium to the recent market price.” The bid has been suc- cessful in securing another 30 per cent of shares despite the views of inde- pendent directors, Graham Parr and CEO David Craven, who deemed the Mayfair offer as not in the interests of shareholders. In an official response issued by the company after the original offer, the directors said: “The inde- pendent directors believe that the company’s share price has not reflected the full value inherent in
ANALYSIS
With Mayfair now in control of over 60 per cent of Timeweave’s share capital and the directors now recommending the offer to the remaining shareholders, it is very likely that Timeweave will be delisted. Timeweave is currently cash rich - it had just over £25m in its coffers earlier this year - and had been in an acquisitive mood itself. That the company should fall prey to market forces in a similar way that it ended up with a near half share in DCD Media, where it bought up loan notes and transferred them into shares, is perhaps a warning that there is always a bigger fish.
50 BettingBusinessInteractive • OCTOBER 2012
Timeweave’s investments and instead reflects the early stages of implement- ing its stated strategy, the perceived risks relating to AMRAC’s earnings, the short period of investment in DCD Media, the company’s overall size, the concentrated nature of its shareholder base and the low trading liquidity of its shares.
“Whilst it is acknowl- edged that the 22 pence per Timeweave share being offered by Mayfair repre- sents a premium of approx- imately 12.8 per cent to the closing price of 19.5 pence per Timeweave share on 5 September 2012 (being the last dealing day prior to the announcement by Mayfair of its intention to make the offer), shareholders should note that the offer represents:
(i) a nil premium to the
12 month volume weighted average price of 22 pence per Timeweave share prior to 5 September 2012; and (ii) a discount of approxi- mately 5.2 per cent to the 24 month volume weighted average price of 23.2 pence per Timeweave share prior to 5 September 2012. “The independent direc- tors consider the offer could represent a loss of value for any shareholders that choose to accept it when compared to the alternative of Timeweave continuing its current activities and its strategic plan to take advantage of further investment oppor- tunities.”
The document also sug- gested that the offer failed to reflect fully the strengths of the company and does not take into account the company’s future prospects. It also added that by de-listing the firm, any remaining Timeweave shares would have their liquidity and marketability reduced. Given this final point now that the Mayfair offer has doubled its holding in Timeweave, the independ- ent directors have since reluctantly recommended the offer to the remaining shareholders, despite their reservations about the val- uation of the company.
Shaa Wasmund is to join the board of the Rank Group Plc £49.6m Timeweave
Joe Lewis’ Mayfair Capital Investment believes there’s no point in Timeweave being a listed company and is making plans to move it into private hands - its own.
as a non-executive director with effect from 1 Novem- ber 2012. Wasmund, 40, has had a distinguished digital career advising both start-ups and large corporations and is an international speaker on the topic of digital media. Rank’s chairman and chief executive Ian Burke said: “With her extensive experience in digital media, I am delighted that Shaa is joining the board of Rank and I look forward to working with her.” Meanwhile Bill Shannon has indicated that he wishes to stand down from the board on 31 Decem- ber 2012. Shannon joined the board in April 2006 and has served on its audit, remuneration and nominations com- mittees.
Loterie Romande’s CEO Jean-Luc Moner-Banet has been
elected president of the World Lottery Association (WLA). The Board of Directors of the Loterie Romande have encour- aged Moner-Banet to accept this new position, which will not affect his responsibilities as CEO in any way. In order to avoid any conflict of interest and to dispose of the necessary time required for this new presi- dency Moner-Banet will resign from his current mandate as Member of the European Lotteries’ Executive Committee and President of the spe- cialised committee for sports betting.
JEAN-LUC MONER-BANET Scientific Games Corporation has named Kevin Anderson
vice president of international business development for the EMEA region. In this newly created role, Anderson will focus on business development opportunities for Scientific Games across Europe, the Middle East and Africa for the Company’s lottery business, including instant tickets, lottery systems, video lottery systems and interactive gaming. Anderson will also be responsible for developing the Company’s sports wagering business around the world. Prior to this role, Anderson was an executive advisor to OPAP SA, the Greek state lottery operator, and was respon- sible for managing OPAP’s sports betting business.
SIS chief executive David Holdgate is stepping down after
14 years to be replaced by chief operating officer Gary Smith. Holdgate will leave on December 31 but will continue in the short term as a consultant with SIS to aid in the han- dover of major relationships. Holdgate said: “It has been a momentous time for SIS. We have relocated the business HQ from London to MediaCityUK, Salford, and this summer we’ve been involved with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, EURO 2012, and the Olympics and Paralympics. All major rights and customer contracts have been tied up on long-term agreements, so taking all that together, this felt like the right time to stand down.” Roger Devlin, chairman of SIS Hold- ings, said: “David has done a great job to build SIS into the successful market leading company it is today. I look forward to working with Gary to develop the future profitable growth of the business.”
DAVID HOLDGATE
ACTION IMAGES / JULIAN HERBERT LIVEPIC
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