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Ladbrokes owner GVC Holdings' chairman, Lee Feldman, is preparing to leave the company, days after off-loading a large stake at a discounted price, Sky News reported on Friday.
In early March, Mr Feldman and chief executive Kenneth Alexander together sold 3 million GVC shares at a discounted price of 666 pence per share, which was seen by investors as a lack of confidence in the bookmaker.
Alexander had then said that both of them remained committed to GVC. The share sale sparked an 18 per cent slide in the company’s stock, which was demoted to the FTSE 250 index from the blue-chip index this week.
Mr Feldman, who has been chairman of GVC since 2008, is set to leave at or before its annual general meeting in 2020, Sky News said.
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GVC declined to comment on the report.
Stephen Morana, senior independent director of GVC, has briefed leading investors that a search for a successor to replace Feldman will be accelerated, according to Sky News sources, although a deadline was not disclosed.
GVC shares fell 2.7 per cent to 517.5 pence - their lowest in more than two years - after the Sky News report. – Reuters
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