GVC on verge of FTSE 250 listing
Operator gains admission to Premium Segment which should see firm receive prestigious listing in August
GVC Holdings could be catapulted into the FTSE 250 next month after the UK Listing Authority granted the operator admission onto the Premium Segment of the London Stock Exchange.
The firm, which currently has a market cap of more than ?1.65bn, said its shares would be transferred from standard to premium listing on 1 August and would enter the prestigious index upon the market’s next quarterly update.
In an announcement this morning, GVC said the listing was the “most appropriate” category for the firm, would provide it with greater exposure to a wider investor base and enhance the liquidity of its shares.
A FTSE 250 listing would also mark another chapter in GVC’s growth story, which only nine years ago was a German-facing casino operator with a market cap of ?26m.
Under the stewardship of CEO Kenny Alexander, the acquisitions of Betboo, Sportingbet and more recently bwin.party has transformed GVC into one of the industry’s major players.
When including bwin.party financials, GVC last year generated net gaming revenues of approximately ?824mi and clean EBITDA of ?163m.
Speaking to EGR last month, Alexander said his ultimate aim was to take GVC into the FTSE 100, with another major acquisition in his sights.
However, that acquisition will not be the Betit Group, which was yesterday sold to Gaming Innovation Group in a deal worth approximately ?54m.
In 2014, GVC took a 15% stake in Betit and subsequently struck a long-term affiliate arrangement with the Scandinavia-focused firm. GVC also held an option to acquire the remaining shares in Betit for around ?60m.
EGR understands GVC did not feel Betit would be worth that sum and also agreed to hand back its 15% holding in return for the cancellation of the affiliate arrangement.