PartyGaming Shares Dive on Reports of Founder’s Sell-Off

Shares in PartyGaming plc have lost over 13% of their value this morning in London following reports that co-founder Anurag Dikshit is to sell approximately 75 million shares, equivalent to two-thirds of his 27.63% stake in the company.

Mr Dikshit is currently the largest single shareholder in PartyGaming with over 113 million shares, with fellow co-founders Ruth Parasol DeLeon and Russell DeLeon both owning a 14% share of the business with over 58 million shares each.

The sale of his share in PartyGaming, worth a potential £213 million at yesterday's closing price of 284.50 pence, will reduce his holding to approximately 9%.

Last year Mr Dikshit pleaded guilty to offence related to activities of PartyGaming which provided gambling services in the United States from 1997 up until passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act 2006. By pleading guilty, Mr Dikshit agreed to a fine of $250,000 and the forfeiture of $300 million to the U.S government (more).

Shares in PartyGaming plc (Co. Profile) (LSE:PRTY) have dropped 13.01% at 10:40 GMT to 247.50 pence per share in London this morning.