RPC and Bates Wells bet on success with Betfair's Blue Square takeover
City firms RPC and Bates Wells & Braithwaite have played roles on Betfair Group's takeover of online sports bookmaker Blue Square Bet from Rank Group. The acquisition, which has a value of £5m, has seen Blue Square's customer database transfer over to Betfair.
April 11, 2013 at 07:00 PM
2 minute read
City firms RPC and Bates Wells & Braithwaite have played roles on Betfair Group's takeover of online sports bookmaker Blue Square Bet from Rank Group.
The acquisition, which has a value of £5m, has seen Blue Square's customer database transfer over to Betfair.
Blue Square is known for its sports betting exchange platform, which allows customers to bet against each other. The takeover comes as part of Betfair's strategy to grow its alternative sportsbook and gaming operations.
Although much of the legal work was carried out in-house by group legal counsel Jon English, Rank also sought external advice from Bates Wells & Braithwaite corporate partner Peter Bohm. RPC advised Betfair with a team led by senior associate Chris Brierley.
Blue Square recently announced half-year figures for 2012-13 that showed an operating loss of £4.8m against revenues of £7.6m. In January, it said it was planning a review of the business.
Rank, which controls casino chain Grosvenor as well as Mecca Bingo, bought Blue Square for £65m in 2003.
Other firms to have previously worked with Betfair include Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, which acted on its £1.39bn initial public offering in 2010. Freshfields also took a lead role on Betfair's £1.5bn sale of a 23% stake to Japan's SoftBank Corporation in 2006.
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