Rank To Delist from U.S. Market
The Rank Group Plc (RNK.L) plans to voluntarily delist from the NASDAQ exchange due to the increased cost of maintaining its registration in the U.S. and complying with Securities and Exchange Commission reporting and other applicable US obligations. After weighing the costs and benefits of maintaining a NASDAQ listing and SEC registration, the company’s board has come to the conclusion that the burden and expense of complying with SEC reporting and other applicable U.S. obligations is out of proportion to the benefits obtained by the company and its shareholders. Rank also plans to amend its Articles of Association to allow it to require U.S. holders of its ordinary shares to transfer their shares so that the company can terminate its registration with the SEC.
Ukbetting Shows Improvement Across All Operations
ukbetting Plc (UKB.L) has released a trading update to report that all of its operations performed well in the first half of 2005. Overall sales have improved by 30 percent compared to the same period last year. The gaming division, which now includes sports betting, casino, poker, backgammon and fixed odds games, experienced a 37 percent increase in sales. Non-sports betting operations now contribute 61 percent of the company’s gross win—up from 44 percent—and the gross win margin has improved from 9.9 percent to 11 percent. Revenue from poker and casino games has improved by 106 percent. The company estimates that 59 percent of its gambling customers originate from its network of sports and gaming information sites. 308,000 new customers registered with ukbetting in the first half of the year, giving the company a growth rate of 7,200 per month. Ukbetting also notes that its customers are betting 15 percent more frequently than they did last year, due to the increased amount of time they spend surfing ukbetting’s content sites for sports results and other information.
First Public Preliminary Results Show Improvement for Empire
Three weeks after its initial public offering, Empire Online (EOL.L), has revealed its preliminary results for the second quarter of 2005. The company, also known as Tradal, reports net gaming revenue of US$25.3 million, compared to $13.8 million over the same period last year and $24.4 million during the first quarter of this year. The company estimates its net profit at $13 million for the second quarter of 2005, an improvement over $7.8 million during the same period last year and $12.4 million during the first quarter of this year.
Tattersall’s Float Is a Smashing Success
Shares in Tattersall's rose 12 percent on their first day of trading on the Australian Stock Exchange Thursday. Retail investors were able to purchase shares for A$2.90 but the company rose the price to $3.10 for institutional investors only a few days before the float because of high demand. Tattersall's share price rose as high as $3.62 before eventually closing at $3.46 on a volume of more than 126 million, making it the most traded stock of the day. Tattersall's raised $300 million though its sale of a 14 percent stake in the company.
Unitab Raises Consolidation Speculation
Queensland-based betting company Unitab has reportedly obtained a strategic stake in New Zealand-based casino operator Sky City Entertainment. Unitab is said to have had already built up a two percent stake in Sky City before yesterday's purchase, which was still not large enough to push its overall stake over the 5 percent limit which would necessitate a declaration of its stake. There is much speculation that Unitab might be taking a preparatory step in a potential takeover of Sky City, but Unitab may have reservations about taking the company over completely because it has no experience in managing land-based casinos.
Hills Sells Shops Amid Competition Concerns
British bookmaker William Hill has reached an agreement to sell 28 of its betting shops to the Tote for £15 million. All of the shops being sold were gained through William Hill's acquisition of Stanley Leisure's Stanleybet sports betting division. The Office of Fair Trading is investigating whether the purchase of Stanleybet's 624 shops by William Hill--which made William Hill the largest betting shop operator in the United Kingdom with 2,237 shops--has created any unfair competitive advantages. William Hill believes the sale of 28 shops to the Tote will help the company remain in compliance with local competition regulations.