Flutter inches closer to primary US listing as more firms fall out of love with London
London-listed gambling company Flutter yesterday won shareholder approval to launch a secondary listing in the US, paving the way for it to switch its primary listing in the future.
99 per cent of shareholders approved the secondary listing at Flutter’s annual general meeting on Thursday.
The listing is expected to take place later this year, Flutter has said previously. It is still unclear, however, whether the Dublin-headquartered company will opt for a listing on the New York Stock Exchange or the tech-heavy NASDAQ.
The approval comes as the latest signal that the company plans to strengthen its profile in the US, potentially paving the way for a primary listing there.
Flutter previously said it would remain a constituent of the FTSE100 and would stay headquartered in Dublin, but said it could seek a primary US listing.
The group — which owns PaddyPower, Betfair and FanDuel — announced in February that it would consider the US listing, which would “yield a number of long-term strategic and capital market benefits,” including access to US capital markets and investors.
The news comes after building supplier CRH said this week it will press ahead with plans to ditch its London listing in favour of a New York one.
“We believe a US primary listing will bring increased commercial, operational and acquisition opportunities for our business… delivering even higher levels of profitability, returns and cash for our shareholders,” the firm said on Wednesday.
The news was seen as a major snub to the City amid fears that London was losing ground on international competitors as a listings destination.