The investment company Blackrock has increased its stake in the Ireland-based bookmaker Paddy Power Betfair. The move is associated to the purchase of 346,023 shares of the gambling operator at the price of €28.5 million, with the shares being valued at the closing prize of the shares on Friday, September 15th.
The news of the stake increase was revealed shortly before the bookmaker officially announced its results for the profit generated over the first half of the year to the end of June 2017. Despite that the operator reported that its profits rose by 22% to €199 million, Paddy Power Betfair’s suffered a serious blow lately, at the time when it became clear that the company’s Chief Executive Officer Breon Corcoran had decided to part ways with the brand.
According to a notice of the Irish Stock Exchange, Blackrock, which is currently one of the most respected US-based investors worldwide, has made the decision to boost its holdings in Paddy Power Betfair from 6% to a total of 6.41% at the end of last week.
Up to date, Blackrock is the largest money management on a global scale. By the end of March 2017, the company was known for managing assets estimated to approximately $5.3 trillion on behalf of its clients.
Breon Corcoran Departure from Paddy Power Betfair
Only a day after Paddy Power Betfair published its financial results for the first half of 2017 at the beginning of August, the company further revealed that its Chief Executive Officer Breon Corcoran was to step down from his position in the gambling and betting operator.
The leave of the company’s boss was quite unexpected, considering the fact that Mr. Corcoran has spent a lot of time with the company and its predecessors. What is more, he has played an important part in the 2016 merger between the bookmaker Paddy Power and the betting exchange provider Betfair, which made his leave look absolutely illogical having come at a time when the integration of the two brands has not been finalised yet.
As mentioned above, the departure of such a key executive of the company has already hurt the bookmaker’s performance, since the company’s share price sharply declined right after the announcement for Mr. Corcoran’s departure had been made.
Paddy Power Betfair’s Future Strategy
At the time when the Irish company revealed its results for the first six months of the year, its Chief Executive Officer confirmed some of the future plans of the operator. Mr. Corcoran revealed that the company is to remain focused on making large investments in various projects that would help it consolidate its positions in the UK gambling sector, which has always been very competitive and very dynamic.
As CEO Corcoran shared at the time when the announcement was made, these investments were intended to be primarily used in order to help Paddy Power Betfair improve its efficiency and reduce some of the company’s servicing costs.
- Author
Olivia Cole
