Markets

Donal MacNamee: Fighting-fit Flutter aims for euro acquisitions and a US listing

The online gambling juggernaut’s leap of faith in acquiring FanDuel has paid off brilliantly – and sights are now set on the American capital markets

Buying FanDuel was part of Flutter’s play for growth in the US after the country undid its decades-long ban on sports betting. Picture: Mitsu Yasukawa

It seems hard to believe now, that just over a year ago there was an air of gloom among the investors of Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment.

Last July, shares in the gambling giant had hit a two-year low, and there was a “lot of negativity” among investors around the company’s performance and prospects, according to David Brohan, a gaming analyst at Goodbody Stockbrokers.

“The US business hadn’t been profitable, and you had the changing legislation in the UK, and people were speculating about how bad that could potentially be,” Brohan told the Business Post last week.