2005-08-25
British gaming Web site jackpotjoy.com is considering an initial public offering, the finance director of its parent company said on Monday.
Jackpotjoy.com may join several other online gaming companies to list in London in recent months as online poker and other Internet games surge in popularity.
"We're looking at strategic options, possibly a float or an acquisition, but it's very early," Michael Mee, finance director at Gamesys, jackpotjoy.com's parent company, told.
The Sunday Times newspaper said advisers valued the company at around 100 million pounds ($175 million).
Last month rival Web site PartyGaming raised over 4.6 billion pounds in an initial public offering, valuing the company higher than many British household names such as British Airways and chemicals group ICI.
Jackpotjoy.com is based in the Netherlands Antilles, a group of islands in the Caribbean. Its Web site said 500,000 people in Britain had joined the site, which offers a variety of games from poker to bingo.