Thursday, May 14th, 2009
Paddy Power has entered the Australian market by buying a controlling stake in Australian bookmaker Sportsbet.
The 51% stake is for an initial consideration of AUD48.5m (€27.2m).
The Irish bookmaker will make an initial cash payment of AUD45.8m (€25.7m) from its existing cash reserves of €96m, and issue of 100,000 Paddy Power shares to Sportsbet shareholders.
An additional cash consideration of AUD10m (€5.6m) will be made to Sportsbet shareholders in early 2010 if the company’s earnings before interest, tax, debt and amortisation (EBITDA) in 2009 (before transaction and restructuring costs) exceeds AUD16.5m (€9.2m). Sportsbet has already forecast EBITDA of AUD14.6m (€8.2m) for the year ending 30 June 2009.
Sportsbet chief executive and its current controlling shareholder Matthew Tripp will continue in his role. Paddy Power will appoint four directors to the Sportsbet board, including chief executive Patrick Kennedy and head of non-retail and online Breon Corcoran.
Sportsbet is a long established Northern Territory-licensed private operator, and owns 19.98% of International All Sports.
Under the terms of the acquisition, in the event that Sportsbet’s EBITDA for any of the years ending 30 June 2010, 2011 or 2012 is less than AUD11m (€6.2m), Paddy Power has the right to claw equity from Sportsbet’s existing shareholders on a proportionate basis to the shortfall in profitability.
Patrick Kennedy said: “The acquisition adds a new dimension to our business portfolio to which we can bring trading, risk management and marketing expertise honed in Ireland and the UK to complement Sportsbet’s existing skills and experience.”
At Paddy Power’s annual general meeting today, chairman Nigel Northridge will highlight the company’s “strong performance” in 2008
Categories: Breaking News, Sports Highlight
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Monday, April 20th, 2009
Betfred and Turf TV, the television service jointly owned by software group Alphameric and 31 racecourses including Ascot, Goodwood and Newmarket, have settled the legal dispute between them, with Betfred now set to show Turf TV in its 734 betting shops.
Betfred was until now the only major UK bookmaker to have not signed up to a deal with Turf TV, which bookies said charged them far more for its exclusive coverage of racecourses than they were charged by former supplier Satellite Information Services (SIS), which is part owned by Ladbrokes and William Hill.
Speaking to EGRmagazine.com, Betfred managing director John Haddock would not disclose the terms of the deal signed in the early hours of yesterday morning, but said it did not mark a defeat for Betfred. Haddock said: “You wait until the deal and the timing is right for the business. At this precise time, the deal was right, they were coming to us on a continuous basis wanting to do something with us, and that time, it was right for this business. So we agreed to it.”
The deal marks the end of Betfred’s involvement in a long-running legal spat between major bookmakers and Turf TV owner Amrac, the joint venture between Alphameric and Racecourse Media Services, the media business owned by 30 of Britain’s largest racecourses.
In September 2007 bookmakers including Betfred, Coral, Ladbrokes and William Hill brought legal action against Amrac over the rights to broadcast live races from Amrac racecourses, arguing that racecourse owners conspired to undermine SIS by backing Turf TV and fixing the price of the racetrack feeds it supplies in breach of UK competition laws.
In October last year, the group lost their case when the High Court ruled that such collective action was the racecourses’ only way of establishing a competitor to SIS, which had previously enjoyed a monopoly.
The court then rejected a conditional counterclaim brought during the trial by a number of the racecourses, who alleged that the bookmakers had colluded unlawfully to pressurise them to reduce prices by boycotting Turf TV and agreeing to withdraw sponsorship from certain racecourses that had licensed media rights to Amrac. The counterclaim would only have applied only if the bookies’ challenge had been successful.
In December, the same judge who had heard the original trial granted leave to the bookies to appeal the first judgment, but refused leave to Amrac to appeal in relation to its counterclaim.
John Haddock said that Betfred withdrawing from the legal action and signing a deal with Turf TV was “nothing to do with the other bookmakers.”
“This is a business decision by Betfred, nothing to do with Ladbrokes, William Hill or Coral. This is a Betfred decision.”
Categories: Breaking News, Legislation, Sports Highlight
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Paddy Power has entered the Australian market by buying a controlling stake in Australian bookmaker Sportsbet.