Market Briefs (May 13-17)

William Hill Goes to Market

William Hill, one of the leading bookmakers in the United Kingdom, will hold an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange in mid-June. The company announced the decision last Monday and plans to release a prospectus at the end of May.

The company hopes to raise £350 million, which it will use to refinance its capital structure, pay an attractive dividend to investors and keep the door open to acquisitions, said a spokeswoman.

David Harding, chief executive, said the company decided to make its move on the market in the wake of a series of good omens, including the abolition of betting taxes in the United Kingdom and the start of the World Cup--an event that has been giving bookmakers visions of fattened registration rosters for the last six months.

"Looking forward, I believe that William Hill is exceptionally well positioned to benefit from the positive developments affecting the gambling industry, which offer significant opportunities for further growth both organically and through consolidation," Harding said.

Additionally, the chief said William Hill, whose online sports book already has 100,000 active users, has increased operating profit at a compound annual rate of 20 percent since 1999.

Schroder Salomon Smith Barney will coordinate the offering, and Deutsche Bank will join it as a joint bookrunner. ABN Amro and Cazenove will be the co-lead managers.

A company spokeswoman said current shareholders Cinven and CVC plan to sell part of their holdings as part of the IPO.

William Hill's business is divided into three sections: betting shops, which it has 1,500 of; telephone betting, which it has 40 percent of the market of in England; and online gambling. Its online gambling arm has been operational since 1998 and receives business from more than 150 countries.

Crypto Renews Normal Course Issuer Bid

CryptoLogic (CRYP) said Wednesday that it is restarting its normal course issuer bid, which began on May 20 and will end on May 19, 2003.

The bid allows the company to buy up to 5 percent of its more than 12 million issued and outstanding common shares, which amounts to more than 600,000 common shares. The software supplier will be able to purchase the shares at the Toronto Stock Exchange for market price. Common shares bought by Crypto during the course of the bid will be cancelled.

The company bought 440,500 common shares during its last normal course issuer bid.

Poker.com Forecasts Growth in 2002

Poker.com (PKR.OB) on Wednesday released an optimistic financial outlook for the remainder of fiscal 2002.

President and CEO Christa Taylor predicts an increase in net income from $77,258, which is what the company reported for the first quarter, to $726,028 for the fourth quarter, with yearend net income at just over $1.4 million.

Taylor said the Vancouver-based company has added tournaments, an affiliate program, and poker sublicensing to its services and hopes to add 50 licensees to its roster by the end of the year.

"We have concentrated our focus on building relations with qualified licensees that will be able to operate a successful poker site," she said. "This year's revenue and gross margin targets remain solidly on track and consistent with market averages."

World Gaming Annual Meeting June 20

London-based gaming software provider World Gaming (WGMGY) will hold its annual meeting at 11 a.m. on June 20.

At the meeting, a new slate of directors will be elected and shareholders will receive updates. The gathering will take place at the Office of Pitmans Solicitors, 47 Castle St., Reading, Berkshire, U.K.

A Webcast of the meeting will be accessible via World Gaming's Web site.

Reports Released

In the first quarter of 2002, Youbet.com Inc.'s revenue was $2.6 million, a 59 percent increase from the previous year's Q1 revenue of $1.6 million. Wagering handle is down 2 percent to $27.1 million from $27.5 million. Operating expenses are up 32 percent due to sales and marketing expenses associated with the opening of its new wagering hub in Oregon.