The rumours were all saying the company was primed for an October float but lacklustre results from recent flotations may push it back to 2011 or beyond.
A study reported by The Financial Times has shown that more than half of the big "initial public offerings" in Europe this year had shares trading below their issue price, leaving investors sitting on a loss.
Betfair to play waiting game over flotation (subscription)) (free link)
THE prospects of being able to buy shares in Betfair from as soon as next month appear to have taken a knock from the performance of other Stock Market listings in 2010.
In the absence of a commitment from Betfair on its long-mooted Stock Market flotation at a value of as much as £1.5 billion, evidence from other firms appears to show the timing may be wrong.
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Preparing for such a massive sea change in the company's ownership is not without its difficulties, but thoughts that October was the favoured month for a Betfair float may need to be reassessed in the light of the post-float experience of other businesses.
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Ocado, the online service that delivers Waitrose goods, was forced to cut its flotation price from 200p to 180p and, despite that manoeuvre, shares fell by 20 per cent in just over a month.
Of 31 businesses which floated across Europe since January and which raised more than $100m, 16 were trading under issue price last Friday. The FT also reported that the average performance of six launches backed by Goldman Sachs reported to be an adviser to Betfair - was a drop (from the issue price) of 0.7 per cent.
So it could be a while yet for all those early staff members who are still sitting on their company shares....Posted byScott Fergusonat02:11
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