Paddy Power to Pay �141 Million in Dividends After Betfair Merger
Investors in Paddy Power Plc are set for a windfall after the Irish gambling giant announced it is to pay �141 million in dividends following the completion of the merger with Betfair.
Paddy Power released a statement revealing it expects to announce yearly profits of approximately �180 million, up 9.9 percent on the �163.8 million profit generated in 2014; full results are to be disclosed on March 8. Once the merger with Betfair is completed on Feb. 1, Paddy Power is paying a special dividend of �80 million, which works out at �1.80 per share. It will also pay a final dividend for 2015 at a rate of �1.20 per share, plus an additional �0.18 per share dividend to cover Jan. 1 to Feb 1.
Paddy Power Betfair, the company to be formed following the merger of Paddy Power and Betfair, will be worth almost �11 billion based on current share prices, making it one of the largest gambling entities in the world. Betfair has revealed its shareholders will receive a final dividend of 24.3 pence per share.
The new company will be split 52/48, with Paddy Power shareholders holding 52 percent of the shares and Betfair��s shareholders the remaining 48 percent. Current Betfair Chief Executive, Breon Corcoran, is to hold the same position in the new company, with his opposite number at Paddy Power, Andy McCue, becoming the Chief Operating Officer.
Shares in Betfair were trading at an all-time high of 4,271 pence per share, with Paddy power stock also trading at its highest-ever price of �134.07 per share at 10 a.m. on Jan. 28.
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