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 One of the leading online sports betting sites and the largest out of Ireland, Paddy Power, made the decision recently to buy out all of the shares in the Australian sports betting site, SportsBet.
The remaining shares cost Paddy Power $132 million which makes them the sole owners of the promising brand. In 2009, Paddy Power began their acquisition of SportsBet when they purchased 51% of the company's shares back in May. Then in February they raised the bar by purchasing another percentage of the shares with the option to buy out the remaining shares by the end of 2012.
Matthew Tripp, the CEO of SportsBet, purchased the company for a little more than $250,000 when the company was just emerging from bankruptcy. Now, it is the single largest online sports betting site in Australia and looks poised to take on more. Online sporting events from around the world are featured for betting on the site including the Ashes cricket test matches between Aussie and England. They also provide wagering for many US college games and professional sports leagues.
Once news spread of SportsBet's success in the industry, many top online sports betting companies took an interest in acquiring such a lucrative company including CEO of Paddy Power, Patrick Kennedy. He told reporters how much potential he saw for growth in the company when he made the original share purchase in 2009.
"We were confident that we were investing in a business with strong potential in a growing market," said Kennedy of the purchase. "That confidence has been borne out."
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