32Red Lists on AIM but Postpones Fundraising
Online casino company 32Red floated on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange Friday but sold only .5 percent of its equity through the public offering. Only two weeks ago the company was about to complete its road show with plans to raise £10 million through its initial public offering, but investors quickly grew apprehensive following the release of PartyGaming's declining growth figures. Rather than completely pull the float, 32Red opted to postpone the raising of funds by selling only .5 percent of the company at 127p to make just over £300,000. The company's CEO Ed Ware stated that dropping the float "obviously went through all our minds but we had done 50-odd presentations with institutions and spent a lot of time and money on the float." He explained that the listing will improve his company's credibility and give it the ability to issue shares for acquisitions. 32Red still plans to raise funds through a share offering in the near future.
List and Consolidate
The latest I-gaming company to announce its intent to float on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange is Fairground Gaming Holdings. The group plans to raise about £8 million through the float and use the money to acquire and consolidate I-gaming properties. The company is headed by CEO Evan Hoff, who worked for Price Waterhouse as a chartered accountant before founding forwardSLASH, an outsourcing and marketing provider to the online gaming industry. Hoff is an executive of Quest Limited, a London-based due diligence and intelligence firm that services major U.K. corporate and professional firms. "The online gaming sector is beginning to benefit companies with scale and brand recognition," Hoff said. "We see significant opportunities for a consolidator such as Fairground Gaming to target and attract relatively small operators and to create a sizeable and synergistic business model to capitalize upon the market potential."
Decline in Pools Causes Sportech Profit Warning
Sportech Plc (SPO.L), operator of the Littlewoods and Zetters brands, has issued a profit warning to inform the market that its full-year profit will likely fall short of expectations. As was the case with most British bookmakers in the first half of 2005, Sportech's betting division suffered a decline in gross win rate due to an unusually high number of favorites winning football matches and horse races. Revenue at Littlewoods' and Zetters' pools operations has fallen by 15 percent during the first half of the year, and Sportech expects a similar decline in the second half. The company expect to report profit before tax of £5.2 million for the first half and projects a similar figure for the second half.
Profit Improvement for BETonSPORTS
Online betting firm BETonSPORTS Plc (BOS.L) has reported its financial results for the first six months of the year, boasting an improvement in profit to $4.9 million over the $4.3 million gained during the first half of last year. The company logged 6,018 new customers during the first half of 2005, while last year the figure was only 5,707. The company is not paying a dividend at the interim, but CEO David Carruthers says the company intends to pay one at the end of the year.
Zone4Play Hints at Float Target Date
Zone4Play, Inc (ZFPI.OB), a company that develops interactive gaming software and solutions for multiple channels, says that shares in the company could be admitted to trading on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange as early as September 30th. The company seeks to raise about £5.5 million through the placement of shares on the AIM.