Online betting exchange giant Betfair is being targeted for takeover by private equity firm CVC Capital Partners.
News reports say CVC has held preliminary discussions with investors Richard Koch, Antony Ball and other partners about Betfair, which could include an offer for the company by funds advised by CVC together with the two men and partners.
Betfair’s market value is estimated currently at £800 million (US$1.2 billion).
Koch, a co-founder of international strategy consultancy LEK Consulting, holds a 6.5% stake in Betfair. Ball is a non-executive director at Luxembourg-listed investment group Brait and is the co-founder of its private equity business.
Since its acclaimed London listing three years ago, Betfair has lost ground to competitors at home and is pulling out of markets where gambling regulations are unclear, although these provide almost a quarter of its revenues. The company recently said it would pull out of Germany and Greece because of problems over licenses and punitive tax rates. The shares have since fallen to well below the £13 the company listed at, and Chief Executive Breon Corcoran, who was hired last year from Irish bookmaker Paddy Power last year, has acknowledged the company had “lost its way somewhat”.
CVC has been involved in gambling at various times in the past. The firm bought William Hill in 1999 and sold it three years later and once owned a stake in UK casino and bingo operator Gala Coral.
