Betfair Rejects Takeover Attempt from Formula One Stakeholder CVC Capital

Betfair, ed a British sportsbetting exchange and online casino operator, ed has rejected a preliminary takeover approach from private equity firm CVC Capital Partners Limited reportedly worth £911.7 million.

According to a report from The Telegraph newspaper, try CVC Capital Partners has investments in a wide range of concerns including a majority stake in Formula One and formulated its bid in partnership with former Betfair director Richard Koch, who still holds a 6.5 percent stake in the London-based operator, and Antony Ball, a non-executive director for investment group Brait.

In a brief statement, Betfair declared that it rejected the deal because it ‘fundamentally undervalues the company and its attractive prospects and is highly conditional’.

Betfair stated that it is confident in its ‘strategy and growth prospects’ for the future as it enters ‘an exciting phase of delivering the new focused strategy announced in December’.

“We have a unique business with a market position, profitability, cashflow and prospects that this proposal fails to recognise,” said Gerald Corbett, Chairman for Betfair.

“Our new management team are implementing the strategy announced in December and it is this that will realise value for shareholders. We will provide an update to the market on May 7 to set out the good progress we are making in the implementation of our strategy including cost efficiencies and our recent trading performance.”