Sky Betting & Gaming declines to comment on reports of possible flotation

It has been reported that Sky Bet’s majority owner CVC has hired investment bank Rothschild to examine a stock market listing of the firm, seeking to take advantage of booming equity markets and the growing popularity of online gambling.

A flotation could value the business, which is led by chief executive Richard Flint, at between £2.5bn and £3bn including debt, according to the news agency Reuters.

Rothschild is organising a so-called beauty contest next week to choose the banks to arrange the initial public offering (IPO), one of the sources said.

Private equity firm CVC declined to comment. In November last year Sky Betting & Gaming revealed it had picked up an extra half a million customers over the previous year as its revenue soared by 38 per cent to £516m.