SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Updating the market, London-listed betting systems provider Sportech Plc has confirmed that it has completed its ‘capital reduction plan’ attached to the sale of it’s the Football Pools division, completed in June 2017 for £83 million.
In accordance with previous transaction objectives, Sportech governance has declared a 29p-per-share distribution for its shareholders, which will see the company complete a cash redistribution payment of £53.8 million.
Sportech details that its capital reduction payment will be made on Monday 18 December, and will be awarded to shareholders registered by Friday 24 November. The shares will be marked ex-dividend on Thursday 23 November 2017.
Richard McGuire, Non-Executive Chairman of Sportech Plc, commented on the update:
“We previously announced that the Company would be making a significant distribution to its shareholders and I am pleased to formally announce that we will be distributing almost £54 million to shareholders in December. This follows the £21 million returned in March this year via a share buyback, taking total shareholder distributions to £75 million in 2017, further illustrating the turnaround in the Company’s financial position over the last twelve months. The Board are also continuing with the Formal Sale Process as outlined earlier this month and we will update shareholders further at the appropriate time.”
In its latest trading update, Sportech governance detailed that the company had begun ‘to hear suitors’ with regards to its planned outright corporate sale.
