Merrill Lynch Upgrades Recommendations for British Groups
Merrill Lynch announced last week that it was recommending "buy" for U.K. leisure firms Stanley Leisure plc (SLY.L) and Hilton Group plc (HG.L), while adding Stanley to its list of "Europe1" favorite stock buys, reported Reuters. The firm's analysts, seeing that there might be a reduction of betting duty charged by the U.K. government, has listed a 12-month target price of 285 p for Stanley. "Stanley was overlooked last year as racing margins came under pressure and now deserves to be reassessed as its present rating puts it at
a marked discount to its peer group," Merrill Lynch analysts said. The report boosted the company's stock price, which went saw a 24 percent increase by last Wednesday. Hilton's price objective for 12-months was listed by Merrill Lynch analysts at 300 pence thanks to the success of the company's e-gambling business. Analysts noted, "At current share price levels, it seems as if the market is not fully valuing either the online gambling portal or the1,880-strong high street betting shop business." Merrill Lynch also had positive remarks for Wembley plc, which operates an online greyhound racing site, 24Dogs. "We conclude that the value of 24Dogs to Wembley could be around £125 million, almost half its current equity capitalization," the analysts said.
Coral Receives Cash Infusion
Coral Eurobet just received a little monetary help, nearly £10 million, from owner Morgan Grenfell Private Equity, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank. The Coral Group is Britain's third largest bookmaker. According to SEC filings made by Deutsche Bank, the financial assistance was given to prevent the Coral Group from breaching its banking covenants after reporting a pre-tax loss of £52 million for the year, The Guardian reported. As part of the filings, Coral Group stated, "On October 11, 2000, after the end of the fiscal 2000, the company issued an additional 10 million shares of £1 each to the parent. The company's directors don't believe that the current capital structure of the group is optimal and are currently assessing alternative refinancing structures." Nonetheless, company officials deny that Coral was dangerously close to breaching the covenants, and insist that the £10 million cash infusion was already in the works, and was intended to be used for promoting its Eurobet Internet site. A Coral official added, "Morgan Grenfell are very happy with the way the business is performing and continue to believe there is significant value there."
Dotcom 2000 to Raise Funds
In an effort to raise $1.8 million in financing, Dotcom 2000 Inc. has announced that it will issue a private placement. As part of its terms, the financing will include the issuing of common shares and share purchase warrants priced at $0.20 for one common share and one-half of one share purchase warrant. Each whole share purchase warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one additional common share for a period of 12 months from closing at a price of $0.30 per share. Dotcom insiders may purchase up to 187,500 common shares and 93,750 share purchase warrants in this financing.
eBet 4th Quarter Financials Up 74 Percent
The fourth quarter financials from eBet Limited show that the company had customer receipts of A$1.698 million for the quarter, an increase of 74 percent over the previous quarter. In addition, eBet's total net cash
outflow was $1.171 million, down 55 percent from the previous quarter's $2.615 million. The reduction is attributed mainly to the prior quarter having included more than $1.6 million in net investing cash outflows,
primarily used for acquisition payments. eBet's net operating expenditures increased 7 percent, hitting $1.001 million. The consolidated operating revenue for the six months to 31 December was up 307 percent over the corresponding period the prior year and up 58 percent over the previous six months. eBet ended the year with $2.6 million (pro forma) in cash or cash equivalents, including City Index's $600,000 contribution. "We feel comfortable with our cash position. Costs are now very stable, with a structure that provides a strong foundation for continued and improved growth," Managing Director Keith Cullen concluded.
Starnet Licensee in Stock Swap Deal
International E-Gaming Developers Ltd., a Starnet licensee with 24 sub-licensees, is entering into a C$1.5 million stock swap deal with CCPC Biotech Inc. On December 4, 2000 CCPC signed a letter of intent agreeing to issue 7.5 million common shares to the shareholders of Intl. E Gaming Ltd. in exchange for all issued and outstanding common shares of Intl. E Gaming Ltd. at a deemed value of $1.5 million or $0.20 per share. As part of the transaction, Intl. E Gaming has released the following figures showing its
value:
Consolidated Balance Sheet As At November 30, 2000
(unaudited)
Current Assets $1,374,359
Fixed Assets 57,000
Other Assets 237,653
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Total $1,679,012
Current Liabilities $ 160,477
Equity 1,508,535
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Total $1,679,012
Consolidated Income and Expense Statement - Two Months Ended
November 30, 2000
(unaudited)
Income $1,061,000
Cost of Sales (131,190)
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Gross Profit $1,192,190
Admin. Expense 40,655
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Net Profit Before Tax $1,151,535
Additional Filings: