PartyGaming Founder Sells 28% Stake For 188miilion
21st October, 2009
Anurag Dikshit, the PartyGaming found is to walk away from the company, according to reports from eGaming Review, by selling his entire stake in the business.
Dikshit had previously announced that he would sell two thirds of his 28% of stake in the company so that he can focus on his charity work in Southern Asia. However, Dikshit, who pleaded guilty to online gambling charges under the US Wire Act and was fined $300m, will in fact be selling his entire stake according to his spokesman.
Spokesman, Shimon Cohen said: “Anurag has paid the US$300m fine that he was asked to pay by the US authorities and has decided it is time to move away from the company. When the time is right, his remaining shares will be sold as well. There will be another announcement related to the sale of the rest of the shares, although we can’t yet say when.”
Shimon Cohen also confirmed that the sale of the shares, estimated to be worth £188m, would go into a charitable foundation.
“Anurag has a charitable foundation that has been running for a number of years that he would like to be able to transfer the proceeds into, and to continue to do the works of the charitable foundation.” Cohen said.
PartyGaming is so far the only major operator to have settled with US authorities for their activities before the introduction of the UIGEA in 2006. Dikshit’s fellow PartyGaming founders, Ruth Parasol and Russ DeLeon have so far not followed in Dikshit’s footsteps and settled for their activities with PartyGaming prior to the company pulling out of the US market in 2006.
By Faye
