Betfair to go public on London Stock Exchange

[The Buzz]

After years of speculation, British major online betting exchange Betfair will finally make the leap to list itself on the London Stock Exchange. Betfair had plans of going public back in 2005, but had to scrap those ideas.

Co-founder Edward Wray called the move "an important landmark" in his company's history.

From The Independent:

Betfair emerged from an idea developed by the former professional gambler Andrew Black. He took his plan to launch a betting exchange to Mr Wray, a JP Morgan trader, in 1998. The site officially launched in June 2000, with its first market on The Oaks race. The pair own 24 per cent of the company.

The group's betting exchange revolutionised gambling as it removed the bookie, and matched punters directly with each other. It has grown to become the largest international online sports betting provider, with more than 3 million registered customers. Mr Yu said: "For 10 years, Betfair has delivered sustained revenue growth and continued profitability, and this success, along with our debt free balance sheet, underpins our confidence to continue investing in the many opportunities we see before us for the long-term success of the business."

The listing is not designed to raise money, and no new shares will be issued. The company has 14 major investors holding 75 per cent of the shares, who have pledged to sell 10 per cent of the group into the public markets. The issue is yet to be priced, but analysts expect it to value Betfair at about £1.5bn, putting it in the FTSE 250 index.

[Tower_Stuart]

That's a great step for a very successful company. I'm sure there will be lots of investors looking to grab a little bit of Betfair as they continue to grow.

[Betpartners]

The stock market valuation was expected to be £1.5 Billion back in 2005 and if that is the same amount in 2010 even with many more customers etc added, then if i was an investor i would have to ask why no increase in valuation in 5 years.

Sure there is very good answers to that question but would still be interested to know

[ecobika]

really very inteersting to see that a successfull betting business goes publicly listed. Certainly the move immediately raises the questions. Closely held betting companies seems to be far better from most of the criterias of bettors. To be public compny means lot more expenses too and sheraholders wants return, where it could come: from the punters...should we say more?