Reclusive Cayman Islands-based billionaire Kenneth Dart, heir to a foam cup fortune, has increased his stake in Paddy Power owner, Flutter Entertainment to just over 20 per cent.
The septuagenarian, who first disclosed a 5 per cent stake in the group last September, is estimated to have spent at least $7.3 billion (€6.35 billion) acquiring the stock. Dart has continued to add to his stake since then, lowering the average price of share buying as Flutter’s shares have slumped more than 60 per cent since then.
The latest holding was disclosed in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission late last week. Flutter’s main stock exchange listing is in New York.
Dart is estimated to have suffered a paper – or unrealised – loss of at least $3.5 billion on his investment, much of it held by way of equity swaps, a financial derivative that has served to limit Dart’s initial outlay. Investors who use equity swaps typically have to post additional collateral with the investment bank or broker-dealer on the other side of a trade.
RM Block
Flutter, which owns FanDuel, the top sports betting company in the US, and rival DraftKings have seen their shares dented by being late arrivals to the fast-growing predictions market, where people can place wagers on everything from elections and the weather to whether a new phone will sell a million units.
The predictions market is dominated by Kalshi and Polymarket, which offer punters the opportunity to bet on everything from the prospect of the US Federal Reserve moving interest rates to who will be the next James Bond. However, most of their revenues come from sports betting.
Flutter chief executive Peter Jackson said last month that Flutter’s own fledgling predictions market has been performing better than expected since it was launched in December. He also said that the group has found “no evidence of material cannibalisation” of FanDuel’s core sports betting business by prediction markets. Still, shares have continued to lose ground since then.
The Irish company’s woes have also been compounded by regulatory changes affecting its international business – including a jump in UK gambling taxes, set to take effect in April, and a ban on money-based online games in India.
Dart’s family wealth stems from his grandfather who founded Dart Manufacturing, the world’s largest maker of styrofoam cups,
Over the course of decades, Dart expanded his wealth by buying distressed sovereign debt from countries including Argentina, Brazil and Greece – often engaging in lawsuits to squeeze more out of debtors seeking to restructure their borrowings.
He is also the largest shareholder in Evolution, a Swedish online casino tech company, and in recent years has amassed big stakes in tobacco giants British American Tobacco and Imperial brands – defying an ethical exodus from such companies.
