888 down after major shareholder sale
888 Holdings has seen a dramatic fall in its share price after the O Shaked family sold its entire 13% stake in the company.
The Sinitus group, which represents the family of 888’s late co-founder, Aharon Shaked, sold its stake in the business for around £112m (€126m).
Sinitus sold just under 46.3m shares in 888 at 243p each.
JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley acted as joint bookrunners in connection with the offering, with the settlement expected to occur on Friday.
Following the Sinitus announcement, 888’s share price fell by 6% from 259p to as low as 240p. It has now risen slightly to 242p, which is still 6.5% down on its Wednesday opening.
Last month, 888 announced a pre-tax loss in the first half of 2017 despite a 9% leap in revenues.
The operator fell into the red after being hit for $50.8m over a record £7.8m fine in the UK for failing to protect vulnerable customers and a potential tax bill in Germany.
In a trading update, the company announced a pre-tax loss of $17.3m in the six months to June 30, from a pre-tax profit of $27.8m in the same period a year earlier.
Related article: 888 slumps following record UK fine