Last checked at 28 Apr 2021 07:00
For immediate release: 07.00 a.m., 28 April 2021
B90 Holdings plc
("B90", the "Company" or the "Group")
Directorate Change and Appointment of New CEO of B90 Ventures Ltd
B90 Holdings plc (AIM: B90), the sportsbook operator and online marketing company for the gaming industry, announces that Rainer Lauffs will be stepping down from the Board and his role as Chief Operating Officer in six months' time following an orderly handover of his duties. Accordingly, the Company has served notice to terminate his consultancy agreement.
The Company also announces that Ronny Breivik has been appointed CEO of B90 Ventures Ltd, the main operating subsidiary of the Group, and will take responsibility for all operational activities of this company. Ronny will initially be joining on a consultancy basis, with an initial appointment period running until the end of June 2021. The details of Ronny's continued role will be agreed before the end of June 2021.
His remuneration will be satisfied by the issue of an initial 280,000 new ordinary shares of no par value in the capital of the Company ("Ordinary Shares") ("Initial Fee Shares") followed by a further issue of 280,000 new Ordinary Shares to be made on 30 June 2021.
Ronny has worked in online gaming since 1997 and launched the first gaming portal in Norway. The world's largest online bookmaker at the time, Sportingbet plc, was Ronny's largest customer. Other customers included Unibet.com and William Hill.
In the early 2000s, Ronny was involved in a start-up, OddsAlive.com, which was subsequently sold to BetInternet in 2003. From 2004 until 2006 Ronny worked with Sportingbet.com again, while also taking on the role of Product Manager for Bet24.com, which was later sold to the Modern Times Group. While at Bet24.com, Ronny introduced live betting and online poker to that company's product portfolio, creating and honing a profitable business model for live betting and online poker.
From 2006 until 2011, Ronny was the CEO of M&B Poker Invest Ltd, which specialised in betting affiliation. During this time, Ronny co-founded and was one of the pioneers of the world's first 'rakeback' site, arguably disrupting the online poker world.
Since 2011, Ronny has been a director of Data Empire Holdings Limited and joint CEO of online venture oddsen.nu. oddsen.nu is now the largest sport betting affiliate in Norway, which Ronny is leaving to take up the role of CEO of B90 Ventures Ltd.
Rainer Lauffs will work with Ronny over the coming months to ensure an orderly handover.
Further to the Company's announcement on 17 March 2021, the Company is progressing the identification and appointment a new independent non-executive Director and will make an announcement in due course.
Admission
The Initial Fee Shares will rank pari passu with the existing Ordinary Shares and application is being made to the London Stock Exchange plc for admission of the Initial Fee Shares to trading on AIM ("Admission"). Admission and dealings are expected to commence at 8.00 a.m. on 4 May 2021.
Total voting rights
Following the issue of the Initial Fee Shares, the Company's total issued share capital will consist of 194,778,866 Ordinary Shares with voting rights. The Company does not hold any Ordinary Shares in treasury and accordingly there are no voting rights in respect of any treasury shares. On Admission, the abovementioned figure of 194,778,866 Ordinary Shares may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, B90 under the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.
Paul Duffen, Executive Chairman, commented:
"I would like to welcome Ronny to our team. In our decision to appointment him, what stood out was his history of growing businesses, with a strong focus on customer acquisition, retention and creating disruptive products based on new technology solutions. We very much look forward to working with him as we execute on our strategy to build out our operations and increase our revenues in a targeted way, while partnering with leading affiliates. Ronny brings over two decades' of highly relevant experience, and an impressive global contact book, which will be invaluable to our team."
"On behalf of the Board, I would also like to thank Rainer for his considerable contribution to the Company. His input has been greatly valued, and we wish him every success in his future endeavours."
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The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of United Kingdom domestic law by virtue of the European (Withdrawal) Act 2018
For further information please contact:
B90 Holdings Plc +44 (0)1624 605 764
Paul Duffen, Executive Chairman
Marcel Noordeloos, Chief Financial Officer
Strand Hanson Limited (Nominated Adviser) +44 (0)20 7409 3494
James Harris / James Dance / Rob Patrick
Whitman Howard Ltd (Broker)
Nick Lovering
Belvedere (Financial PR & IR) +44 (0) 20 3687 2756
John West / Llewellyn Angus
About B90 Holdings plc
B90 Holdings plc is a group of companies focused on the operation of its own online Sportsbook and Casino product as well as marketing activities for other online gaming companies.
Website: www.b90holdings.com