Online gambling company Betfair is being targeted for a £750m takeover by a group which includes a former Betfair director.
CVC Capital Partners, a private equity company, is in talks with Richard Koch, one of the early backers of Betfair, to launch the offer for the betting company. Yesterday, CVC confirmed the talks with Koch. It did not confirm that a bid would definitely be made as a result of the talks.
Koch was a board member prior to Betfair’s market float in October of 2010 and has a 6.4 per cent stake in the company. He sold 23 per cent of his shares to Softbank of Japan nine years ago in a deal reported to be worth £23m.
Betfair’s shares have fallen sharply in the two years since it floated, down to 782p, a 40 per cent drop.
