Paddy Power Betfair owner raises €904m in share sale

Flutter Entertainment, owner of Paddy Power Betfair bookmakers, has raised more than €904 million in a share sale as it seeks to cut its debt burden in an uncertain market after merging with Canadian rival the Stars Group.

The group also said the transaction would give it the financial flexibility to take advantage of opportunities that might fall out of the Covid-19 crisis.

The move comes just weeks after it completed its merger with Stars Group to create an Irish-headquartered gambling giant with revenues close to €5 billion a year.

The company hired Goldman Sachs and Davy to place 8.045 million new shares, the equivalent of 5.5 per cent of current total stock count, in the market. In a note to the Irish stock exchange on Friday, it said it raised gross proceeds of £812,645,495.

The euro placing price, for those participants who elected to settle in euro, was €112.42, which represents a discount of approximately 4.7 per cent to the closing price on May 28th.

The company said it was pleased by the strong support it has received from new and existing shareholders.

Applications have been made for the admission of the shares to trade on the London Stock Exchange’s main market for listed securities and to a secondary listing on the official list of Euronext Dublin.

It is expected that admission will become effective and that dealings will commence in the shares at 8am on June 2nd.