Betfair valued at stg£1.5bn for planned IPO

8 Oct 2010

Online-gaming site Betfair, which is due to go public, is valued at stg £1.5bn. The company, which has an operation in Dublin, plans to offer shares at between stg£11 and stg£14 each on London’s FTSE 250.

Betfair was the world’s first gambling site to create an iPhone app. The company provides person-to-person betting around outcomes in sport and business.

It was started up 14 years ago by former professional gambler Andrew Black and Edward Wray. Both own 22.5pc of the business.

The price range suggests Betfair is being valued at up to 21 and 28 times its forward earnings, according to reports.

Other online gambling companies like Paddy Power and PartyGaming trade at 16 times the value of forward earnings.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com