A little over a month after an unsuccessful takeover bid, FS Gaming Investments has reduced its stake in the online betting and gaming company 888 Holdings and the operator has terminated its voting rights deal with former Entain chief Shay Segev.
According to an official filing with regulatory authorities, 888 Holdings said FS Gaming has slashed its ownership in the company from 6.57% to 4.55%. The London-based firm has revealed that FS Gaming now possesses approximately 20.4 million shares, which are worth approximately £23.7 million ($30.2 million) based on 888’s closing share price of 116 pence as of the previous Friday.
The development comes a little over a month after 888 decided to terminate discussions with FS Gaming over voting rights following concerns raised by the UK Gambling Commission. A move that would have seen a number of appointments made to the gambling group’s board led the UKGC to warn 888 of a potential license suspension or revocation.
In June, FS Gaming acquired a 6.5% stake in 888, prompting a proposal for the appointment of key individuals to the gambling group’s board. The namings included Lee Feldman as Chair, Kenny Alexander as CEO, and Stephen Morana as CFO. Alexander’s placement as CEO would have occupied the seat left empty since former boss Itai Pazner left in January.
However, with each executive previously holding senior leadership positions at the now-rebranded Entain, at the time known as GVC, 888 has been in communication with the UKGC in relation to the shareholding and proposal. The regulator raised concerns over an ongoing HRMC investigation into GVC’s historic Turkish operations and alleged misconduct by employees and third-party suppliers.
The HRMC probe prompted the Commission to launch a review of 888’s license. The company then decided to end talks to make Alexander its new boss, which it is hoped will make the odds of a license revocation or suspension extremely slim.
In its recent financial statement, 888 Holdings reported a 165% growth in revenue for the first half of 2023, amounting to £882 million ($1.12 billion) and Adjusted EBITDA surged by an impressive 211%, reaching £155.6 million (about $198 million). Despite its impressive revenue growth, the group reported an after-tax loss of £33 million ($41.9 million) for the period compared to profit-after-tax of £12 million (approximately $15 million) in H1-22.
