Sportingbet to go for LSE main market

One of the industry’s major online gambling groups, Sportingbet.com, has announced that it intends to move its shares to London’s main market. The company has announced the cancellation of trading of its shares on London’s Alternative Index Market pending its listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) next month.
The company, which generates almost 90 percent of its bets in Europe, expects the move and simultaneous cancellation from London’s junior AIM market around May 14, subject to approvals, Reuters news agency reports.
“The official list is the most appropriate platform for the continued growth of the group by increasing Sportingbet’s profile, assisting in the liquidity of the company’s shares and providing a greater range of potential investors,” the company said in a statement.
In related news, rumours that another top online gambling group, Betfair, is planning an IPO on the London market are gaining ground following the company’s recent hiring of Morgan Stanley director Mark Brooker as head of strategy.
Industry observers point to recent moves by the betting group to expand its corporate communications by considering top financial PR consultancies in London, and to reports that it has been involved in a series of meetings with major institutional investors. At the beginning of the year, the company appointed Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to advise on its options for the potential GBP 1.5 billion IPO .
Betfair spokesmen remain tight-lipped on the rumours and have declined to comment.

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