Tipp24 SE investing in Germany again
Sep 29, 2010 8:31 AM
Tipp24 SE / Key word(s): Miscellaneous 29.09.2010 08:31 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tipp24 SE investing in Germany again * Company selling treasury stock to rebuild German lottery brokerage business * 361,180 treasury shares placed with reputable, long-term investors On 28 September 2010, Tipp24 SE sold its entire stock of treasury shares to a number of reputable, long-term investors. Authorized by a resolution adopted by the Annual General Meeting of 16 June 2009, the company sold a total of 361,180 treasury shares (corresponding to around 4.5% of capital stock) at a price of 25 euros per share by means of a bookbuilding process. The transaction was accompanied by Berenberg Bank as the lead manager. The offer was oversubscribed by a factor of two. Tipp24 SE intends to invest the sale proceeds in rebuilding its online brokerage of state-run lotteries in Germany. To this end, the company plans to resume its partnerships with the state lottery companies of Germany's federal states. In the past, Tipp24 brokered stakes of around 1.5 billion euros for these lottery companies. Dr. Hans Cornehl, CEO of Tipp24 SE, states: 'Following the European Court of Justice rulings, we are now setting a clear sign for the reestablishment of our brokerage business in Germany. We aim to resume our former very successful cooperation with the lottery companies and begin brokering the state-run Lotto once again via the Internet. We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to our shareholders for their long-term trust in our growth strategy.' Following restrictions introduced by the German State Treaty on Games of Chance, Tipp24 was forced to terminate its online Lotto brokerage via the www.tipp24.de website at the end of 2008. The European Court of Justice, however, recently declared that the State Treaty is not applicable and contravenes EU law. Tipp24 SE decided to sell its treasury shares to finance the company's reestablishment in Germany, as it initially plans not to use any dividends of its UK minority holdings until the respective legal questions have been settled. 29.09.2010 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. DGAP's Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Company: Tipp24 SE Straßenbahnring 11 20251 Hamburg Deutschland Phone: +49 (0)40 325533-0 Fax: +49 (0)40 325533-77 E-mail: office@tipp24.de Internet: www.tipp24-se.de ISIN: DE0007847147 WKN: 784714 Indices: SDAX Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Hamburg, München, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart End of Announcement DGAP News-Service ---------------------------------------------------------------------------