Bookie-owned broadcaster Sports Information Services pulls up before £200 million sale finish line

Bookie-owned Sports Information Services (SIS), which broadcasts horse races and data to betting shops and sites, has pulled up before the finish of its sale process.

According to reports earlier this year, the owners of SIS - including Ladbrokes, Betfred founder Fred Done, William Hill and the Tote as well as private equity groups - were looking for £200 million. Boutique gambling M&A advisors Oakvale Capital had been brought in to sell the business.

In February, Sky News reported that there was “strong interest” from both financial and strategic bidders.

Today, shareholder Catalyst Media revealed the SIS board was no longer looking to sell. Catalyst is an investment group that now only has a single holding, its 20.5% stake in SIS.

The group said that after agreeing new contracts with some of mainland Europe’s top online bookies and an extension of its deal to broadcast Irish horse racing, the SIS board decided a sale was no longer the best option.

Catalyst said: “The SIS board has decided that shareholder value can best be maximised for the time being by continuing to implement the existing strategic development plan for the business which will target growth in all SIS’s product areas over the coming years.”

SIS, which owned the Racing Channel until it closed in 2003, made £7 million in profit for the year to 31 March, the last year for which accounts are available.

Ladbrokes, owned by Entain, is the largest shareholder of SIS with a 23% stake. 888-owned William Hill owns 19.5%, Done 7.5% and the Tote 6%.