"Tough" IPO market kills £97m Football Pools sale
Sportech's deal with Burlywood Capital called off due to adverse market conditions and a reported lack of funding
The £97m sale of The Football Pools to investment firm Burlywood Capital has fallen through due to London’s “tough” IPO market, its owner Sportech announced this morning.
According to a statement from the firm, Burlywood was “unable to conclude the transaction set out in their original proposal“, which would have seen an IPO of the Football Pools under a newly-formed parent company.
Former Sportingbet COO Ian Hogg, who was expected to be chairman of the new company, said on LinkedIn: “Shame, everyone worked really hard on that deal. In the end the IPO market is just too tough in London right now.”
Investec analyst Alistair Ross also claimed in a note cited in The Guardian today that Burlywood Capital had failed to raise the required funds for the deal to be completed.
Sportech has been looking to offload the business for over a year and turned down a bid of £75m from GVC Holdings in 2015 as it looked for a valuation closer to £100m.
“The Football Pools is a valuable asset which has been transformed following a lengthy modernisation programme,” Sportech CEO Ian Penrose said.
“We will continue to focus on maximising opportunities for the business.”
The Football Pools business reported a 19% decline in revenues to £14m for the first half of the year, while EBITDA fell 3% to £7m.
Sportech shares were down almost 10% to 61.5p in early trading