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Andrew Black steps down from Betfair board

On the day Betfair officially announced their intention to list on the London Stock Exchange, one of the two original founders of the firm, and the one responsible for the idea, Andrew Black, has resigned from the board of Betfair. He made it public on Facebook.

This doesn't come as a surprise at all, 'Bert' had admitted some time ago that he was advised to step away from Betfair totally, otherwise he'd forever be getting frustrated with its direction now that he was no longer involved in the firm on a day-to-day basis. Now he can just sit back and enjoy what it has done to his bank balance.

Well done Bert.
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Comments

  1. Last Chance Trader24 September 2010 at 10:30

    Hi Scott,

    Why does Betfair have to be listed on the Stock Exchage? Surely this cash rich business does not need financing over the long-term or is it for the reason of wanting to more recognised/accepted in the business world. Will commissions be increased as a result for the cost of Betfair being on the LSE?

    I've started my own blog yesterday. It would be good to include it on your blog roll as I'm committed to posting stuff until Xmas.

    I've linked your informative blog to mine

    Thanks

    The Last Chance Trader
    http://lastchancetrading.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Scott24 September 2010 at 10:46

    Companies have numerous reasons for going public, Betfair's is certainly not raising capital for expansion. Their minority shareholders (mostly staff) have been promised an exit point for years, and being listed on a major stock exchange holds big credibility when lobbying governments in territories reluctant to consider legalised gambling. Betfair can't squeeze much more out of the legalised markets, the big growth prospects are in those yet to permit online betting - USA, China, India etc. The added responsibility of being a listed company where the directors must act in the best interests of their shareholders, rather than deal without conscience, is a big deal for a foreign firm lobbying politicians who don't really understand the industry they have to negotiate with.

    ReplyDelete

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