Chariot Reveals Rescue Plan as Three Directors Leave
After revealing on June 2 that ticket sales for the first four weeks of its Internet lottery, Monday, had been significantly below expectations, Chariot (UK) Plc (CRT.L) has announced that it plans to raise £2.6 million (US$4.8 million) by issuing 53 million shares at 5p each. The company has also reshuffled its board of directors, with Chairman Tim Holley, a former CEO of Camelot, Managing Director Crain Freeman and Administrative Director David Gray all leaving the company. Deputy chairman Peter Jones will take over as chairman and will buy 5 million of the new shares for £250,000 ($461,000). New Deputy Chairman John Finan will also purchase 5 million shares, and Non-Executive Director Suzanne Counsell, who already has a 2.8 percent stake, will buy 1 million shares. Chariot is also eliminating 10 job positions, which will cut its staff in half.
Centrebet Opens A$70 Million IPO on ASX
Australian bookmaker Centrebet on Thursday opened its initial public offering on the Australian Stock Exchange to retail investors. The company plans to raise A$70 million (US$52 million) by offering 35.11 million shares (40 percent of the company's total capitalization) at A$2 (US$1.49) each. The retail offer will remain open until June 28. Centrebet's prospectus states that the company should generate revenues of about A$56.5 million ($42.3 million) in 2006-07, an improvement of A$10 million ($7.4 million) over forecasts for the current year. The company also anticipates earnings before interest and taxes of A$14.6 million ($10.9 million) in 2006-07. Managing director Con Kafataris told reporters recently that thanks to a boost from World Cup betting, the company could achieve results greater than those forecast in the prospectus. The company expects betting on the World Cup by its customers to exceed A$24 million (US$17.9 million).
Gaming and Casino Fund Availability Grows
Fidelity Investments recently made investments in The Gaming and Casino Fund (GACFX) available to the public. The Gaming and Casino Fund invests at least 80 percent of its assets in casinos, gaming manufacturers, pari-mutuel companies and lottery support systems, as well as electronic/video game developers, manufacturers and distributors. The fund launched on March 31, 2006 and gained 3.4 percent in its first two months of operation, compared to the loss of 1.91 percent experienced by the Standard & Poor's 500 index for the same period. The Gaming and Casino Fund is also available at E*Trade, Ameritrade and Scottrade.
GTECH Shareholders Approve Acquisition by Lottomattica
GTECH Holdings Corporation (GTK)'s shareholders held a special meeting Wednesday at which they voted to approve the acquisition of GTECH by Italian lotteries company Lottomatica S.p.A (LTO.MI). The merger is expected to be completed sometime in mid 2006, and GTECH will become an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Lottomatica. Each outstanding share of GTECH common stock will be converted into the right to receive US$35 in cash without interest.
URU Boosts GB Group's Annual Revenue
British data services company GB Group (GBG.L) has reported a 14 increase in group revenues to £12.8 million (US$23.6 million) for the year ended March 31 (compared to the previous year). The company is engaged in a joint venture with BT to offer a data authentication service called URU whose primary clients include online gambling companies, and revenue from URU increased threefold over the year to £1.9 million ($3.5 million). Additionally, URU's number of customers nearly doubled over the year to 105 and its transaction volumes increased threefold to 572,000 in the last quarter.