Gambling News - July 2005 Edition

"Israeli Firm's $1.0B IPO Plan"

2 Israeli gambling firms float on the London stock exchange in 2005

Empire Online and 888Casino.com, both Israeli owned Internet gaming companies have announced plans to float their companies on the London stock exchange this year. Noam Lanir, the owner of Empire Online, is hoping for a one billion dollar flotation on the stock exchange and plans to float the company in late June. The Shaked siblings and Ben Yitzchak siblings, owners of 888Casino.com, are hopeful for an even higher floatation for their company. 888Casino.com is expected to float for 1.6 billion dollars.

Unlike 888Casino.com, Empire Online offers more than just a venue for gambling. Empire Online’s specialty is attracting the gamblers to the online gambling sites. They maintain that it is not enough just produce and offer a site, the site needs to attract a critical mass of visitors, Empire Online specializes and excels in this section of the industry. In fact, companies such as 888Casino.com and Pacific Poker owe their popularity and success to Empire Online’s successful marketing strategies.

The Tel Aviv based Tamir Fishman Brokerage firm is the investment bank that will be handling Empire Online’s allocation to Israeli investors. Mr. Leventhal, chief financial officer at Tamir Fishman said, “looking at the company and leaving out the stigma, it’s astonishing. It is a very interesting company with a high turnover, tremendous profits and a huge growth potential.” Levanthal believes that Empire Online’s expectation of a billion-dollar company valuation is within reason, given the company’s profit margin. He also believes that Empire Online is one of the most promising Internet companies around and represents an outstanding opportunity for investors.

In a bid to add to make the upcoming flotation even more credible and attractive to investors, Empire Online hired Numis Securities to underwrite the company’s issue. Considering the success of Empire Online and the increasing interest in Internet gambling inside Israel and England, Numus Securities is even considering an increase in the scope of the IPO.

Lanir scored big when he managed to get Lord Leonard Steinberg to be the chairman. Steinberg has been a major player in the United Kingdom’s gambling industry since 1955 and built Stanley Leisure, one of the largest gambling businesses in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Lanir revealed that, he expects Empire Online to net $66 million on $100 million in revenues for the year 2005. In the previous year, Empire Online showed a net profit of $37.7 million on $65.2 million in turnover.