Betfair takeover bid abandoned by CVC

Betfair's technology allows customers to bed against each other

Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners has called off its attempted takeover of Betfair after the two companies failed to reach a deal.

CVC refused to raise its offer price again, having made three earlier bids for the online betting firm.

Betfair said none of the bids "represented adequate value".

CVC confirmed in a statement that it was unable to agree financial terms and therefore had "no intention of making an offer for Betfair".

Betfair shares fell 3.75% in morning trading in London.

The company's technology allows customers to bet against each other online, as well as offering more conventional sports betting.

CVC had been given another 24 hours by the UK Takeover Panel to come up with an improved bid after a deadline passed on Monday.

CVC made its original approach to Betfair in April, but the bid was rejected.

It then submitted two revised offers during May, eventually valuing the company at £988m ($1.52bn).

Gerald Corbett, Betfair's chairman, said the board had "spent considerable time assessing the various proposals, including details discussions with the co-offerers".

"The board concluded that none of the proposals represented adequate value or acceptable execution risk," he said.

The CVC consortium included investors Richard Koch and Anthony Ball.

Mr Koch, a co-founder of LEK Consulting, holds a 6.5% stake in Betfair. Mr Ball is a non-executive director at Luxembourg-listed investment group Brait.