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Betfair Appoints Marks’ Dyson

February 4, 2010

Betfair Ltd., which enables gamblers in 140 countries to bet with each other over the Internet, appointed Marks & Spencer Group Plc’s Ian Dyson to its board amid reports it's considering an initial public offering.
Dyson, who has been finance director at London-based Marks & Spencer since 2005, joins Betfair as an independent non-executive director.

The company hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley to review its options, which include a possible 1.5 billion-pound ($2.4 billion) share sale, the Sunday Times reported Jan. 24. Victoria Palmer-Moore, an external spokeswoman for the company, declined to comment on a potential IPO. U.K. retailer New Look Group Plc this week said it plans to raise 650 million pounds in an IPO, while Dublin-based travel- reservation provider Travelport Ltd. will seek to raise $1.8 billion in a share sale to cut debt. Deutsche Back AG estimates IPOs in Europe will triple this year.

Founded 11 years ago by Andrew Black and Edward Wray, Betfair says it processes more than 6 million transactions a day from 3 million registered customers, generating revenue from sports betting, online casino and poker games. Annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization climbed to 72 million pounds, Betfair said on Aug. 5. Revenue, or the commission charged on customer winnings, rose 27 percent to 303 million pounds, the company said.