FanDuel president Amy Howe picks up interim CEO position with IPO delayed
Former Ticketmaster COO to take top job as Flutter postpones public spin off until 2022 amid Fox dispute
FanDuel president Amy Howe will assume the role of interim CEO following the departure of long-standing chief executive Matt King later this month.
Howe joined FanDuel Group in February 2021 from Live Nation Entertainment, where she most recently served as COO of Ticketmaster.
Matt King will leave the business on 16 July following a short transition period and is expected to take up a position at sports e-commerce giant Fanatics.
FanDuel parent company Flutter Entertainment has yet to confirm a permanent replacement for King, however an appointment is expected by the Fall.
Commenting on the appointment, Flutter Entertainment CEO Peter Jackson said: “Matt leaves the business in a position of strength and we wish him well for the future.
“The appointment of Amy, working alongside the wider FanDuel leadership team, will support the key focus on growing the business and retaining our number one position in the US market.”
Elsewhere, The Telegraph newspaper has claimed Flutter will postpone its planned stock market float and spin off of FanDuel until 2022.
The broadsheet suggests the firm has decided against pursuing an IPO in 2021 following the departure of King and to allow for the conclusion of its legal row with Fox Corp.
Flutter’s plan to IPO and spin off of the FanDuel business first surfaced in March, with shareholders frustrated over the low valuation of the business in comparison to nearest rival DraftKings.
Shares in DraftKings have skyrocketed since the business went public via a SPAC merger in April 2020, an upward trajectory that FanDuel is keen to replicate.
Responding to these rumours, the firm said it “regularly evaluates its organizational and capital structure” but said it had made no decision on whether to proceed with an IPO.
However, Flutter was hit by another setback in April when sports betting partner Fox Corporation instigated arbitration proceedings against the firm over its scheduled purchase of an 18.6% stake in FanDuel.
Under the terms of the agreement between the two parties, Fox can purchase the stake based on a “fair market valuation” of the business as at July 2021.
However, Fox has disputed this, claiming the valuation should be based on a December 2020 valuation, when Flutter bought a 37.2% share in the FanDuel business from FastBall Holdings.
The New York Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Service is still considering the lawsuit.
Shares in Flutter Entertainment fell by 1.28% in early trading on the London Stock Exchange to £12.74p.