Paddy Power boosts shareholding in online Australian betting firm to 60%

LISTED BOOKIE Paddy Power has increased its shareholding in Australian player Sportsbet by buying out a minority shareholder at a cost of €8.5 million.

The Irish company said yesterday that it has bought a 9.8 per cent shareholding in Sportsbet for Aus$13 million, (€8.5 million).

The acquisition brings its holding in the Australian online sports betting business to 60.8 per cent. Paddy Power bought 51 per cent of the business last year for an initial €27.2 million, but the deal includes an earn-out clause that could see it paying up to €32.8 million.

The Irish company also took the option of buying the entire business for between five and seven times Sportsbet’s annual earnings.

Paddy Power said that the remaining 39.2 per cent of the Australian company would remain subject to the option agreement and any other terms agreed last year.

The stake the company said it purchased belonged to a minority shareholder, Nambawan Capital, which has no executive involvement with the business.

Paddy Power said the deal implies that Sportsbet and its subsidiary, International All Sports (IAS), are worth €120 million in total. Paddy Power’s deal valued it at €95.4 million.

Sportsbet bought IAS within weeks of Paddy Power’s announcement last May that it had taken a stake in the Australian business.

Paddy Power has since further expanded its international presence by sealing a deal with France’s state-owned pool betting system, the PMU, that will lead to the creation of 250 jobs at its base in Tallaght, Dublin.