Sky sells majority stake in Sky Bet for £600m to focus on European TV
BROADCASTER Sky yesterday sold a controlling stake in its online betting and gaming business Sky Bet to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners in a £720m deal.
The deal, which comes just weeks after Sky completed the £7bn takeover of its European sister companies Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland, will see Sky receive an initial £600m in cash on completion and retain a 20 per cent stake in Sky Bet.
Sky chief executive Jeremy Darroch said the deal would “allow us to focus further on the substantial growth opportunities in our core international pay TV business while realising significant value for our shareholders.”
Sky could also receive an extra £120m based on private equity group CVC receiving a certain return on its investment.
The sale and its proceeds, while unexpected, are understood to be set aside for funding general corporate purposes.
Sky’s shares fell slightly by 0.1 per cent yesterday to 926p in London.