By Andrew Bushe
DUBLIN — The country’s best-known bookmakers, the Paddy Power chain, is planning to float on the Dublin and London stock markets to raise about £18 million through a limited, institutional placing.
Chief executive Stewart Kenny said the group has had 12 years of growth and that the flotation is being undertaken to finance expansion. The placing values the group at £92 million
"We believe there are significant opportunities in the on-line betting market as well as our strategy to increase profits and turnover from betting offices and our very successful telephone betting operation," Kenny said.
The company is also expanding into Britain through an agreement with NTL to be on their interactive betting platform.
Kenny said the firm’s existing on-line betting operation is getting a new kind of customer using the internet. Business continues to grow through the conventional betting shops, he said.
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The company made $4.3 million in profits in the six months to the end of June.