Online poker firm set for multibillion pound flotation
{{date|June 4, 2005}}

Partygaming Plc, the worlds largest [[w:Online Poker|online poker]] company, has announced that it intends to float on the [[w:London Stock Exchange|London Stock Exchange]] by the end of this month. Although it has not yet set a price, analysts in ''[[w:City of London|The City]]'' are speculating that the flotation could value the firm at up to STG£5bn. Such a valuation would make the flotation the largest in four years.

The [[w:Gibraltar|Gibraltar]]-based company, which owns the Partypoker brand, intends to sell 23% of the company in the flotation. If the company's initial public offering is successful, the firm will enter the [[w:FTSE 100 Index|FTSE 100 Index]] (the top 100 firms on the exchange by value). Its value would be greater than that of both [[w:British Airways|British Airways]] and [[w:Boots Group|Boots]].

Partygaming Plc was founded in 1997 by [[w:Anurag Dikshit|Anurag Dikshit]] and has since grown at a huge rate - doubling profits in the past year alone to STG£371m. At peak times it attracts 70,000 simultaneous players.

==Sources==
*{{source|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4601793.stm| title= Poker firm bets on £5bn flotation | author= |pub=BBC News|date=June 2, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2005-06-02T083115Z_01_KNE230639_RTRUKOC_0_LEISURE-PARTYGAMING-LISTING.xml| title=PartyGaming plans London IPO by end June | author= |pub=Reuters|date=June 2, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2005/06/02/afx2072282.html| title=PartyGaming set for LSE flotation | author= |pub=Forbes|date=June 2, 2005}}

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[[Category:Europe]]
[[Category:United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Culture and entertainment]]
[[Category:Economy and business]]
[[Category:Poker]]
[[Category:Stock market]]
Partygaming Plc, the worlds largest online poker company, has announced that it intends to float on the London Stock Exchange by the end of this month. Although it has not yet set a price, analysts in The City are speculating that the flotation could value the firm at up to STG£5bn. Such a valuation would make the flotation the largest in four years.

The Gibraltar-based company, which owns the Partypoker brand, intends to sell 23% of the company in the flotation. If the company's initial public offering is successful, the firm will enter the FTSE 100 Index (the top 100 firms on the exchange by value). Its value would be greater than that of both British Airways and Boots.

Partygaming Plc was founded in 1997 by Anurag Dikshit and has since grown at a huge rate - doubling profits in the past year alone to STG£371m. At peak times it attracts 70,000 simultaneous players.
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