| 888 Holdings PLC announces 175 pence-a-share offer |
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LONDON - Gibraltar-based online casino 888 Holdings PLC began trading on the markets after launching a 175 pence-a-share offer. This price values the firm at £590 million (€864 million) and is lower than expected.
The firm had indicated that it world be launching an offer between £546.1 million (€800 million) and £714.6m (€1.04 billion). When the firm had initially announced its intentions to trade, it had indicated that it would be valued somewhere in the region of £800 million. However rival PartyGaming's warnings about the slowdown in the gaming market appears to have dented 888's confidence to announce an offer that is decidedly at the lower end of the spectrum. At the beginning of the trade on the London Stock Exchange, investors expressed interest in the casino operator's stock and shares increased by 2 pence to 177 pence within the first 60 minutes of trading. However, by lunchtime the shares had dropped to 164.75 pence.
Even after PartyGaming's dire predictions, 888’s financial advisers at HSBC decided to go ahead with the float and the company said this morning that the issue was five times subscribed. "We are delighted that 888's IPO [initial public offering] has attracted such strong support among leading UK and European institutional investors," said John Anderson, chief executive of 888. "We have a clear strategy for creating sustainable shareholder value by becoming the market leader in the online gaming industry and continuing to provide our members with a comprehensive range of gaming activities in a secure and trusted environment."
Earlier this month 888 had announced that its gaming revenues surged by 14.2 percent in the first six months of the year and its online poker revenues had spiraled up by 226 percent as compared to last year. Net gaming revenues for the subsequent two months of July and August stood at £13 million, said the firm adding that it was hoping for "continued growth in the casino business" for the rest of the year.
Posted
on : Thu, 29 Sep 2005 19:35 GMT | Business News
By : Pippa Fielding
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