When The Big Boys Play.....
Published: Friday, December 10, 2004 Online-Casinos.com
WHEN THE BIG BOYS PLAY...
Of Hilton takeover rumours and a beefier Ladbrokes e-gaming division.
Persistent rumours this week that UK online betting group Sportingbet might be the target of a predatory takeover bid by Ladbroke's parent group Hilton sent the sportsbook's shares soaring this week....but remained unconfirmed.
Sportingbet rallied to a record high amid rumours that the online gambling operator may have attracted the attention of Hilton Group. The theory, though dismissed as speculative by some analysts, was given weight by suggestions that Ladbrokes has been beefing up its e-gaming operation, adding at least 50 new staff, some at senior management level, in the past six months.
The UK financial media speculated that Sportingbet, which is itself digesting the recent multi-million dollar acquisition of Paradise Poker, would provide a huge fillip to Ladbrokes' internet aspirations, although one potential problem could be Sportingbet's big exposure to the US market, where the dubious legal position of online gambling has prevented Ladbrokes from entering the market so far.
There are similarly unconfirmed suggestions that Hilton has also been casting an eye over Betfair, the UK's biggest internet betting exchange, although an IPO for the privately owned company currently looks the favoured route.
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