Entain sells Betdaq back to billionaire businessman Dermot Desmond
Irish investor and financier reacquires betting exchange for undisclosed fee eight years after Ladbrokes bought it for €30m
Entain has agreed to offload its Betdaq betting exchange business back to former owner Dermot Desmond for an undisclosed fee, EGR has learned.
In an email to customers, Betdaq advised of changes to the ownership of the business with effect from 1 December.
From this date, the Betdaq licence will be transferred from parent company LC International Limited to a second company, Exchange Platform Solutions Limited, which will then be sold.
Customers logging in after 1 December will be required to accept new terms and conditions under the banner of Exchange Platform Solutions Limited in order to continue to use their Betdaq accounts.
In line with existing UK Gambling Commission guidelines, Betdaq customer funds will be transferred from Ladbrokes separate trustee company to Betdaq trustee control, to be held in a segregated bank account on behalf of the Exchange Platform Solutions business.
Speaking to EGR, an Entain spokesperson acknowledged the deal ahead of its expected completion next week.
“We can confirm that Entain has agreed to sell the Betdaq business to Dermot Desmond, for an undisclosed sum,” Entain said. No further details regarding the sale were divulged.
Ladbrokes, which is now owned by Entain, bought Betdaq from Irish billionaire Dermot Desmond in a cash-plus-shares deal in January 2013 for €30m, while also acquiring a 10% stake in Betdaq’s technology provider, TBH Guernsey Ltd, for €4m. Ladbrokes later launched its own betting exchange powered by Betdaq.
Betdaq was first established by Desmond in 2000 out of Dublin as a rival to Flutter and Betfair, both of which merged in 2002, although Betdaq always struggled to compete on liquidity with runaway leader Betfair.
At an operational level, the Betdaq business has been on the periphery to Entain’s core online and UK and European retail business.
However, management have tried to stand it out from rival exchanges like Betfair, Matchbook and Smarkets by offering 0% commission throughout Euro 2020 and last March’s Cheltenham Festival.
While financial terms of the Desmond deal have not been revealed, it is thought he has paid a fraction of the €30m he received from Ladbrokes in the original sale.
Desmond’s private equity business, International Investment and Underwriting UC (IIU), has not responded to EGR’s request for comment.