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James Ashton From: The Times
BETFAIR, the online gaming exchange, has selected two investment banks to advise it on a 1.5 billion-pound sharemarket float.
The gaming exchange is understood to have chosen Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to weigh up options for its future, which include a possible sale or share listing.
A deal could lead to a giant windfall for Betfair's founders, Ed Wray, a former JPMorgan trader, and Andrew Black, once a professional gambler. They own 25 per cent of the company between them.
It could also mark an exit for Japanese backer Softbank, which has a 23 per cent stake. However, a float is unlikely to take place until the autumn.
Travelport, the hotel reservations group, last week announced plans for a £1.8bn ($3.2bn) listing, firing the starting gun on a dash to the stock market for a host of private companies in 2010.
Hugh Osmond's latest cash shell, Horizon, also fleshed out plans to raise £500m next month for deals.
On Betfair, gamblers can bet against each other instead of a bookmaker. The firm took 2bn wagers last year and reported earnings of £72m, a 29 per cent rise, on £303m in sales that registered 27 per cent growth over results for the previous reporting period.
Betfair believes it is well placed to lead a consolidation of the gaming sector.
Meanwhile, Promethean, the maker of interactive whiteboards for classrooms, will create a small war chest for acquisitions when it lists on the stock market in the next two months.
Last week, it made its first external investment when it joined an £11m funding round for Flatfrog, a Swedish maker of touchscreen displays.
