Sportingbet confirms bid approach
- Added:
- Apr 30, 2003
The company has been trying to secure funds to cover deferred consideration relating to its 2001 acquisition of Sportsbook, which helped Sportingbet increase its presence in the US. The payout is scheduled for September.
Shares have doubled in the past two weeks but directors were quick to warn investors that any offer could be lower than the current share price.
Sportingbet confirmed that no formal proposal has been received but the potential buyer is weighing up an approach for the whole company, and that talks over its funding requirement are ongoing, with a number of parties involved.
The company has long been the target of Simon Cawkwell, aka shares short seller Evil Knievil, who reputedly made £3.5m last year from selling shares he had borrowed.
Cawkwell studies balance sheets to identify possible weaknesses and then sells stock in the hope of buying it back at a lower price, making money on the margin of difference. Sportingbet shares have lost three-quarters of their market value in the past 12 months.
Shares in Sportingbet fell marginally to 29.5p, capitalising the company at £47.8m.
28 March 2003:
"www.sportingbet.com ":http://www.sportingbet.com
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