FLUXX GOING AFTER SPORTWETTEN

30 November 2007

Offer to purchase Sportwetten.de for Euro 1.09 a share


Reports in the German business press are that German gambling group Fluxx has placed an offer to purchase Sportwetten.de for Euro 1.09 a share. A statement from Sportwetten.de said the offer was valid until December 21, adding that it would make a recommendation on the offer in due course.

The offer pegs the value of Sportwetten at Euro 11.35 million. Fluxx has informed that it has already acquired 25,4 percent of the shares of Sportwetten.de AG. Sportwetten.de is an online sport betting company - operating on a Malta-based betting license - that shut down its online betting service on October 1 due to 'the lack of legal security in many countries following contradictory court rulings'.

Fluxx AG intends to use the takeover bid as a means of strengthening its market position in the field of horse betting, as Sportwetten has developed into one of the leading providers of horse betting on the internet in recent years. Bets can be placed on horse races in 14 countries, some of which are broadcast live on the internet. Sports betting is no longer offered in view of recent developments affecting the legal framework.

According to provisional, unaudited figures Sportwetten posted a consolidated result of Euro -1.9 million for the 2006 financial year, with consolidated revenue reaching around Euro 32 million. According to its own figures, Sportwetten achieved a positive consolidated result in the first five months of the 2007 financial year.

Unlike sports betting, casino games and lotteries, the organising and arranging of horse betting on the internet is not covered by the restrictions of the planned State Treaty on gaming, which is scheduled to take effect from January 1, 2008. Horse betting therefore remains the only form of gaming that may be offered and promoted on the internet in Germany free from the restrictions envisaged by the State Treaty on gaming.

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