Is Bet365 heading out of the hands of the Coates family and onto the auction block? According to a recent report in the Guardian newspaper, the Coates family is currently exploring several options for what to do with their multi-billion dollar gaming empire as the company’s 58-year-old leader, Denise Coates, inches closer towards retirement age.
The Guardian article cites unnamed sources pointing towards several different scenarios for Bet365’s future. These include a straightforward sale to the highest bidder; a partial sale that involved the Coates family retaining some ownership; and a third scenario involving a US stock listing. None of these scenarios have been confirmed or acknowledged by Bet365.
Whatever the situation, Bet365 is a healthy company with a good reputation that could fetch an astronomical price. Bet365’s current value is estimated to be somewhere around £9 billion ($11 billion USD). With a 58 percent stake in the company, a sale at that price could net Denise Coates £5 billion ($6.6 billion USD).
Alun Bowden, an EKG analyst pointed out to Guardian readers that Bet365’s success in the growing US market makes it particularly attractive to investors. “That is not an easy or cheap market to crack and potentially requires more funding to enable them to aggressively attack the opportunity. Now feels a very good time to explore exit opportunities, and the timing feels right with Denise turning 60 in two years’ time.”
Denise Coates is credited with turning her father’s small chain of bookmaking shops into a worldwide gaming powerhouse over the course of her career. Coates is an online gambling pioneer who purchased the company’s domain name from an eBay broker and never looked back.