Sport is made for betting

Four years after pulling out of a proposed deal because of concerns about US legality, Ladbrokes PLC have confirmed they are in discussions to buy 888 Holdings. It's been a tough few years for 888 who were valued at 240p per share back in 2006, but last week before the announcement were south of 50p (now 56p after peaking around 60p). According to this report though, Sportingbet (who are known to be looking around for merger and acquisition targets after recent talks with Unibet) and Harrah's could be sniffing around as well.... Meanwhile, in other trading news, Goldman Sachs have upgraded their Betfair rating from neutral to buy . Not much conflict of interest there considering they were the investment bank who floated them, and are now probably desperate to save face as the company trades more than £3 below IPO price, and over £5 below the peak during restricted trading.....

From the tail of a Guardian article discussing the substantial fall in Betfair shares today: The slump in Betfair shares is another awkward issue for Goldman Sachs, the US investment bank which arranged the gambling company's float. It touted Betfair as a high growth investment at £13.00 in October but shareholders have now lost about a quarter of their investments. The investment bank's name was also on the ticket of this year's flotations of online grocer Ocado whose shares are down 12% and technology group Promethean World where the stock has fallen by 70%. The bank insists that it has a better record on flotations than rivals. A sample of three probably isn't a fair assessment but considering they are blamed by some as being a significant cause of the global recession, it's not doing their reputation any favours. But it cuts staff bonuses by £5k (of an average £500k), then I doubt anyone inside will care a great deal....

One of Betfair's strongest allies in the press, Greg Wood of the Guardian isn't getting caught up in all the hype over the Betfair float. What prospects are left for growth? If the economy is flat, then why are they going ahead now? Is liquidity flat-lining? Betfair flotation may give potential investors that sinking feeling The men who founded Betfair are gamblers at heart, and reports over the weekend that they intend to press ahead with a float suggest that their appetite for a punt has not diminished. An oft-quoted estimate of the exchange's value is £1.5bn. These are uncertain times, but if it raises much less than that, it will be seen as a gamble gone astray. It is entirely possible that Andrew Black and Ed Wray, who own 25% of the business, are so confident about Betfair's long-term prospects that the immediate possibility of a double-dip recession is of little concern. Alternatively, it is conceivable that Betfair, in their opinion, is now as valuable ...