Sportech Share Discussion Threads

[nod] 09/10/2015 19:52

What a ridiculous situation. Sportech extended offer deadline to 6 November, giving another month for the share price to drift down to a price CG may be able to find a speculative investor to fund.It's clear the shareholders are not being given the truth by the Sportech board who obviously see themselves personally benefiting in some way from being acquired by a toddler.This sentence is clearly untrue but must be a requirement: "This announcement has not been made with the agreement or approval of Contagious Gaming."

[trentendboy] 08/10/2015 20:31

Late rise might mean a bid coming

[trentendboy] 08/10/2015 20:29

Late rise might mean a bid coming

[nod] 08/10/2015 09:16

Contagious Gaming must, by no later than 5.00 p.m. on 9 October 2015, either announce a firm intention to make an offer for Sportech in accordance with Rule 2.7 of the Code or announce that it does not intend to make an offer, in which case the announcement will be treated as a statement to which Rule 2.8 of the Code applies. This deadline will only be extended with the consent of the Panel.

[finkie] 06/10/2015 11:17

ignore him hes a doom monger this isn't dead and at 58p the potential loss is in the price it isn't going to go to 30p if they lose for example. I have just topped up. SPO wins round one gets the money in the bank HMRC wins appeal money back now waiting on final judgement, the judge would have to go against the initial ruling which would be strange but not impossible; on balance I think its worth a play at these levels as D day isn't too far away.

[utterly pointless] 05/10/2015 11:03

any basis for saying that stephen1946? or is it just assertion?

[stephen1946] 04/10/2015 19:06

good luck to you on that one.

[finkie] 04/10/2015 19:03

Spo will win the appeal they won round one remember a useless appeal just racked up millions of lawyers fees

[stephen1946] 03/10/2015 18:46

Spot the ball is lost, rather like Penrose and George Formby(hemmings).

Spo is in deep deep brown stuff.

[utterly pointless] 02/10/2015 11:34

hi brownie, i've said this before but I think it's (also and in large part) a play on the outcome of the Court of Appeal Spot the Ball decision.

[brownie69] 02/10/2015 11:30

Been having a good look at this

So Contagious now have another week to go to raise the cash. Given their small size I always felt it was unlikely they would succeed. I still do not expect them to succeed.

But interesting that no one else (perhaps a more credible bidder) has been flushed out. Ive been thinking about why that might be?

Historically the Football pools business has been the cash cow but that's been flat recently, in fact down a bit, and as far as we know there has bee little to no investment. they also said they would have closed the collector network by now but have not done so. Why? well it could be that they need those revenues to maintain a minimum level of critical mass? Without the collector revenue maybe the pool sizes drop too much to cover central overhead or make prizes big enough to be attractive to punters? Or could it be that they are concerned about cash? They have plenty of debt and depending upon the covenants on that debt they might need to preserve that cash?

It would be helpful if there is any info on the covenants on that debt. I'm going to have a root around over the weekend and see if I can find anything on that score.

Then they have the US venues business which declined last year, both in revenue and profit and was only a small contributor.
The final main business is their racing business which is flatish (rev slightly down and EBITDA slightly up.

Total debt of £63m and EBITDA of £11m H1 so using £22m for the year, they are just compliant with a covenant of 3 times cover.

So in conclusion I think that this looks like a disparate set of three businesses and pools is the main cash cow. But they have not been doing what they said (ie close collector network). could it be that there are debt related covenant pressures which are the reason? Would explain the NYX JV sale

I'll revert if I can get more clarity on their debt terms.

[nod] 12/9/2015 22:30

Don, I agree, there is no justification to give them an extension and keep shareholders in limbo. They are probably hoping China will get worse and global markets will crash, giving them the opportunity to make a low-ball offer.

[dontrader] 11/9/2015 11:52

Contagious given another 4 weeks to Put Up or Shut Up.
As a shareholder I am of the opinion that they should not have been given an extension. I don't think there is any credible substance to their "proposed offer" .

[stephen1946] 10/9/2015 06:19

Sportech and Penrose now in a fantasy world, sounds appropriate.

[nod] 10/9/2015 03:43

Liverpool Echo:

The acquisition of a 35% share in DraftDay Gaming Group for zero consideration, in return for providing executive management and a highly regulated potential customer network, takes the Group into the rapidly growing Daily Fantasy Sports business.

It matches Sportech’s strategy to develop into a broader based global gaming business, from its highly-regulated international wagering and technology position involving horse race betting in North America, football pools and electronic gaming products.

[nod] 09/9/2015 21:51

An interesting acquisition and share of 35% which SPO will get in exchange for its operational management skills and leverage of the Sportech customer base. It looks a worthwhile venture. The acquisition of a 35% share in DraftDay Gaming Group for zero consideration, in return for providing executive management and a highly regulated potential customer network, takes the Group into the rapidly growing Daily Fantasy Sports business.Ian Penrose, Chief Executive of Sportech said:"We are delighted to have expanded our product portfolio in the US into the rapidly growing Daily Fantasy Sports sector, in association with industry partners Viggle and MGT.Our recent strategic moves include delivering transactional technology into an increasing number of Professional Sports Venues in North America through Bump 50:50, and selling our iGaming interests in New Jersey for nearly GBP11m earlier this year, generating a profit of approximately four times our investment for three months of operational activity.

[nod] 29/8/2015 01:56

The NYX H1 and Q2 results are of interest to SPO holders as we took CAD$10 million in NYX shares. After a series of acquisitions NYX looks to be growing revenues strongly. Our NYX shares went up 10% late on Friday.NYX net income up by over 1000%Friday 28th August 2015By David CookProvider NYX Gaming Group's net income increased 1674% to $8.8m for the six months ended 30 June. Revenue and gross profit both went up by 66%, ascending to $20.6m and $17.9m respectively. Negative EBITDA of $1m was reported, in comparison with adjusted EBITDA of $3.4m for the corresponding period last year. Earnings per share increased to $0.26 from $0.02. In the second quarter of 2015 alone, net income increased 769% to $13.9m and revenue improved by 45% to $10.7m. NYX completed its acquisition of the remaining 50% interest in Sportech-NYX Gaming from its joint-venture partner Sportech, a supplier and operator, and supplier Game360 Limited in May, as well as the acquisition of Amaya (Alberta) Inc., formerly Chartwell Technology Inc. and CryptoLogic from provider Amaya Gaming for an initial purchase price of $110m in July. NYX CEO Matt Davey said: "I'm pleased to announce that Q2 was a very strong quarter for NYX, as we closed the purchase of Game360 and the buyout of our joint venture partner, Sportech, in New Jersey.

[nod] 28/8/2015 20:41

I agree. SPO is very cheap, which is why Contagious is trying to buy it. SPO had already indicated its UK football pools business was for sale and by being open to Contagious has broadcast that its U.S. business is open to offers as well.

[trentendboy] 28/8/2015 20:32

Given the speed of consolidation SPO need to find a partner quick and good assets are in short supply.

SPO remains a strong buy imo

[somerset lad] 28/8/2015 09:32

I agree that the Contagious bid is not credible: no financing for a start.

SPO presumably publicised partly to ensure Code compliance, but also to see whether it would flush out any other interest.

[brownie69] 28/8/2015 08:14

Well the market seems to be discounting the Contagious "bid" which I assume means they don't think the tidder will be able to raise the cash. Got to wonder why Sportech got involved in such a debacle.

As attention returns to the companies trading performance I can see this going further down. A sell for me.

[stephen1946] 21/8/2015 09:00

Maybe Penrose is trying to get Griffiths to contemplate a rival bid to protect his investment.

[stephen1946] 18/8/2015 10:34

a sportech directors speciality, led by the wizard of euxton. AVOID.