Bwin.party’s investment controller, NewGame, has sold off the company’s stake in Gaming Realms. They have stated that they no longer have an interest in the business and are pursuing other opportunities. The sale has enabled existing shareholders to gain a bigger stake in the company. The directors of Gaming Realms have bought more ordinary shares in the company for just 10 pence each. The individual shares are currently worth 20 pence each. Speaking of the sell-off, Michael Buckley, the Chairman of Gaming Realms, said that the company thanked bwin.party for all of its support over the past few years. He himself bought 1,400,000 shares which now brings his total up to a staggering 18,000,000. This is roughly 9.22% of the total shared capital of the company. The Chief Executive, Patrick Southon, has also purchased an additional 500,000 shares, taking his total to 10.897,039, which equates to around 5.58% of the company.
Big financial commitment
NewGame was actually set up by the founders of Gaming Realms, Patrick Southon and Simon Collins. It was launched in 2011 after the pair invested £1 million into the company. Bwin.party invested the majority of the funds with a £15 million commitment. It made an investment in Avatingo, a social games developer, in 2011 and AlchemyBet in 2012. Both companies have now been bought out by Gaming Realms. The sale has been credited to bwin.party switching its focus to the company’s core gaming assets. It hasn’t dampened interest in Gaming Realms however as shares were unchanged at 32.50p. However, shares did fall for bwin.party by 3.36%, taking their value to 86.26p each. Buckley has also come out to say that he is pleased with the current demand for Gaming Realms shares. While the sale marks an end of an era for Gaming Realms, the company certainly isn’t struggling.