SureFire to Merge with ebs Electronic Billing Systems
SureFire Commerce Inc. (FIR) said this week that 84 percent of its shareholders have approved the company's merger with ebs Electronic Billing Systems AG of Germany.
The shareholders approved the merger on March 26 at a special meeting. The shareholders also said yes to a 10-for-1 stock consolidation of the company's common stock.
The merger is expected to close today, when the e-commerce company issues 2,795,249 shares of common stock to the shareholders of ebs. In return, SureFire will receive 51 percent of ebs. In addition, ebs will be given an option to buy 15 million shares of SureFire in exchange for SureFire acquiring the remaining 49 percent of ebs.
Mitch Garber, the president and CEO of Surefire, said the deal is part of SureFire's evolution as a company.
"The merger with ebs is an important event in the evolution of SureFire Commerce, and we are delighted and encouraged by the support of our shareholders," he said. "We can now look forward to moving ahead with our business plan and strategy of becoming a profitable, international leader in the payments industry."
Events Go Sour for Sportingbet
Sportingbet (SBT) said last week that it expects the results of several sporting events in March will negatively impact profits. The bookmaker said that a "high number" of U.S. basketball and U.K. horse racing results were "unfavorable" to bookies during March, which is typically the company's busiest time.
Gross margin performance in March was below the long-term average for the online sports betting industry, the company said, although it does still expect to take in £14.5 million in operating profit for the year to March 31.
Sportingbet said turnover is keeping up with projections during the fourth quarter and that the number of bets placed stayed healthy.
S&P Warns Ratings Could be Affected by War
Standard & Poor's on Tuesday said that casinos in Las Vegas and the Bahamas are the most vulnerable to lowered business due to the war in Iraq because they require customers to travel by air.
The ratings group said MGM Mirage (MGG) and Park Place Entertainment (PPE) are rated just one step above junk and are the most susceptible to a travel-related dent in business. Others that could be affected include Mandalay Resort Group (MBG); Kerzner International Hotels Ltd. (KZL), which recently decided to end its online gambling venture; and the Venetian Casino Resort LLC, whose parent company, the Las Vegas Sands, recently received an online gambling license from Alderney.
Since the start of the war in Iraq just over a week ago, the number of available flights has been cut and the International Air Transport Association has predicted that international travel will fall by 15 to 20 percent.
Standard & Poor's said that if the war is prolonged and has a "greater-than-expected" effect on the economy, it could revise its ratings on the above casino companies.
One company, however, announced last Tuesday that its business has so far not been impacted by the war. Harrah's Entertainment Inc. (HET) said it would not change its 2003 earnings estimates due to the war. Gary Loveman, the CEO of Harrah's, told reporters that the company's business has been holding up well.
"We've indicated to investors and others that the business has been very resilient to the current circumstances," Loveman said. "I was in Vegas yesterday and the city is hopping. Both of our hotels are full this week in Las Vegas as an example. Business is good."