Sportech confirms offer for Football Pools business
Operator says it rejected offer as it "did not match" its valuation for the business
Sportech this morning confirmed it had received and rejected an offer to acquire its Football Pools business.
In its AGM trading update, the firm said it declined the bid as it “did not match” its valuation of the Pools, and comes just days after eGaming Review reported Sportech was considering a sale.
Sources close to the situation said the firm was ready to dispose of the Pools at the right price, thought to be around £100m, and rejected an initial offer of around £75m.
In the update, Sportech said the Football Pools was “performing in line with management’s expectations” and had signed-up 8,500 new players so far this year, a 10% increase on 2014.
The firm also revealed that its £9m contract to supply the platform for Betfred’s Totepool business was “on track” to go live this summer, with successful systems trials having already taken place.
“We are delighted that our technology has been chosen to deliver all tote betting on horseracing in the UK and this provides a strong endorsement of the quality of our products,” Sportech said.
The firm said it would continue to focus on its growing US operations, and noted that it had renewed contracts with “key customers” including Mountaineer Gaming, Emerald Downs and Parx Racing.
But thoroughbred racing industry data indicates that wagers were down 3% YoY during the four months ended April 2015, and Sportech said it would “focus on driving efficiencies” as a result.
While the operator suffered the loss of two “significant and profitable” customers during the period, including Colonial Downs in Virginia, handle for its Connecticut-facing Mywinners.com site grew 71% YoY.
“We expect to continue to improve our technology and product offering during the year to support further growth on this channel,” Sportech said.
Sportech said that “good progress” had been made with its strategic objectives across is various business divisions, and that trading is expected to be “in line with expectations” for the full year.
Sportech’s share price was down 0.74% to 67.50p this morning.