Jackpotjoy-owner Gamesys agrees £2bn takeover deal with US casino owner Bally’s March 24, 2021 US casino owner Bally’s has agreed a takeover deal for Jackpotjoy-owner Gamesys in a move which could value the UK firm at more than £2bn. Shares in online gambling firm Gamesys soared after Bally’s told US investors it had agreed on key terms regarding a potential deal. Bally’s Corporation, which operates casinos and racetracks in [...]
FTSE 100 closes in the red as Astrazeneca doubts weigh on index March 15, 2021 The FTSE 100 closed in the red this afternoon as growing doubt over the efficacy of the Astrazeneca vaccine weighed on hopes for a swift economic recovery from the pandemic across Europe.
Flutter mulls spinning off Fan Duel sports betting brand in US March 14, 2021 Paddy Power owned Flutter is mulling spinning off its Fan Duel brand in order to capitalise on the growing US sports betting market. Over the weekend the FTSE 100 firm confirmed it was looking at listing part of the brand on a US exchange, it was reported. Having first invested in Fan Duel in 2018, [...]
Ladbrokes owner Entain back in black on rapid US growth March 4, 2021 Ladbrokes owner Entain today swung back into the black as rapid growth from its US joint venture pushed revenue higher. The FTSE 100 firm posted profit of £113.8m in 2020, compared with a loss of £131.2m the year before. Revenue and gross profit were both flat at £3.5bn and £2.3bn respectively, while earnings rose 10 [...]
Aviva reports record group protection sales as it sells off Italian business March 4, 2021 Insurance giant Aviva has reported operating profit remained stable even in the face of the pandemic amid a sale of its Italian and French division. The insurer reported operating profit of £3.16bn while its core business cash remittances rose marginally to £1.4bn. The FTSE 100 company said it had delivered record sales in group protection [...]
Sports streaming firm DAZN taps former Disney executive Kevin Mayer as chair March 3, 2021 Sports streaming service DAZN has appointed former Disney executive Kevin Mayer as its new chairman. DAZN, which is backed by billionaire Len Blavatnik, said Mayer will lead the nascent streaming platform as it pursues an “aggressive” growth strategy. He replaces John Skipper, who is stepping down to focus on Meadowlark Media, a newly-launched content company [...]
City Moves: Who is switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? March 3, 2021 Snakes and Ladders provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. This week we have seen a flurry of new hires across the capital. From a Ritz chairman joining an intelligence firm, to a former Knight Frank executive taking on a leading residential role [...]
Daily Mirror owner Reach sees profit fall despite stronger second half March 1, 2021 Reach today posted a 12.8 per cent fall in profit as the newspaper publisher reported a stronger second half of the year. The firm, which owns the Mirror and the Express, said that profit fell to £133.8m, in line with expectations. An 18.9 per cent decline in print revenue over the year sent the group’s [...]
BT chair Jan du Plessis steps down to ‘focus on other interests’ March 1, 2021 BT chair Jan du Plessis will step down from the board less than four years after joining the telecoms firm. The former Rio Tinto chair joined BT as a non-executive director in June 2017 and was appointed chair that November. Prior to his role at the telecoms giant, du Plessis was chairman of SABMiller when [...]
Ladbrokes owner Entain hikes Enlabs offer after shareholder resistance March 1, 2021 Ladbrokes owner Entain has today hiked its offer for Swedish rival Enlabs to around £310m, the firm announced this morning. The FTSE 100 firm said that it was raising its bid from 40 Swedish krona per share to 53 Swedish krona per share, giving the firm a valuation of 3.7bn krona (£311m). The decision to [...]