The venerable Sunday Times re-ignited speculation in London this week that the second largest online poker site in the world, PokerStars.com is moving toward a public listing
The highly respected newspaper surmised that the company is preparing to float on the London stock market before the end of this year with a value likely to exceed GBP 1.1 billion.
The Scheinberg family, which owns the major shareholding in Pokerstars has been exploring an outright sale in recent months, and is reported to have been in talks with a number of investment banks, including HSBC and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein regarding advice on either a sale or a listing.
While no banks have yet been mandated, insiders have apparently informed the Times that the company was gearing up for a listing having apparently moved away from its initial brief on selling through NM Rothschild.
Pokerstars, like other recently listed online gambling groups Empire Online Ltd., 888 Holdings and Playtech, is controlled by Israelis. The company’s controlling shareholders are Isai Scheinberg, who lives in Canada and a relatively unknown Tel Aviv based businessman, Pinchas Shapira, who are believed to jointly control a 75 percent stake in the company. The remaining shares in the seven year old company are believed to be owned by employees.
The company, which is licensed on the Isle of Man recently announced the sign-up of its 5 millionth account, doubling the number of players on board a year back.