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Sportingbet shares rise despite delay releasing results

Financial results are pushed back as company closes in on new online poker site acquisition

Tuesday 19th October 2004



Despite announcing the postponement of their most recent financial results, Sportingbet stock still rose yesterday, by 3p per share. Currently valued at 103p per share, the rise is an indicator of both the success of Sportingbet and the strength of the online poker industry, as the announcement was accompanied by the revelation that the company was searching to buy a new online poker site.

Having revealed that their financial results would be delayed, as well as the need for a substantial fund raising venture, a spokesperson for the company also confirmed that they are looking to acquire a new site. In response to the extraordinary growth of online poker, Sportingbet is now keen to buy a new larger site, which, it is intended, would replace their current poker interest. The idea is to purchase a site with a larger membership, in order to accommodate their current players, who would then be able to play on virtual tables as and when they wished.

The company’s financial results were due tomorrow, but with the acquisition deal being apparently close to be being finalized, have been postponed pending the resolution of this venture. Sportingbet is currently around £36 million in debt, but says it intends to raise equity in order to make the purchase. They did also reveal that the financial results were expected to be in line with those forecast, that being that operating profit would be no less than £21.7 million before taking out goodwill and exceptional costs.




Source: OnlineCasinoNews