Eminence Capital takes Entain stake above 5% threshold

Eminence Capital CEO Ricky Sandler has upped his stake in Entain to 5.8%, becoming the FTSE 100 firm’s third largest shareholder in the process.

Sandler snapped up 7.1 million shares on 3 June to take Eminence Capital’s total shares in the business to 37,154,030, above the 5% reporting threshold.

Eminence Capital now sits behind The Capital Group Companies (15.16%) and Dodge & Cox (9.99%) in terms of prominent Entain shareholders.

Sandler was added to the Ladbrokes parent company’s board at the start of January, having penned an open letter last summer hitting out at the group’s previous M&A strategy.

Sandler was also added to the group’s people and governance committee and its Capital Allocation Committee.

The Capital Allocation Committee also includes Entain chair Barry Gibson and non-executive director Pierre Bouchut.

Last month, following a strategic review led by the committee, Entain has ruled its Georgia-facing Crystalbet brand is “non-core” to the business and will therefore entertain offers for the entity.

The review also determined that Entain is “well positioned to deliver high-quality, long-term growth” amid a commitment to the BetMGM US joint venture, operations in Central and Eastern Europe and a “robust” balance sheet.

Earlier this week, Gibson purchased a further 5,000 shares in the business, priced at 685p per share, taking his total shareholding to 137,500.

The chair is set to step down from his role when a permanent CEO has been sourced, with the position being held in the interim by Stella David.

David will step up to replace Gibson once a new frontline boss is in situ.

Alongside Gibson increasing his stake in the group, his spouse, Brenda Gibson, purchased 5,066 shares, while Bouchut snapped up a further 10,000.

Stella David’s spouse, Peter David, acquired 145,376 shares at the same time, taking his total holding to 275,376,