Dermot Desmond sells stake in Optimal Payments for £146m
Former Betdaq owner disposes of entire 25% stake holding in AIM-listed payments company
Celtic Football Club owner Dermot Desmond has sold his 25% stake in payments service provider Optimal Payments for a total consideration of £146m.
The Irish businessman, who last year sold betting exchange platform Betdaq to Ladbrokes for around 30m, had held a stake in Optimal Payments through his wholly-owned holding company IIU Nominees since 2008.
However, Optimal Payments has announced that IIU’s total of 40,186,032 shares were successfully sold via a secondary placing last week to both new and existing investors at a price of £3.65p a share.
Optimal Payments, headed up by CEO Joel Leonoff, has enjoyed a period of growth of late with the company having struck numerous deals in the US gaming market, causing its share price to rise by more than 200% in the space of 12 months.
“We thank Joel Leonoff and his team for their contribution to the success of Optimal Payments and for their hard work during the period that IIU has been a shareholder,” Desmond said following the sale.
“The successful placement of IIU’s shares demonstrates the confidence that investors have in the Company’s prospects,” Leonoff said.
“We believe that our commitment to expanding the business and continued targeted investment will help drive sustained future growth in 2014, 2015 and beyond.”
Earlier this month, the payment provider said it expected full-year 2013 revenue to be no less than US$245m with EBITDA no less than $51.5m when figures are released in March.
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