Webis Holdings PLC Webis agrees new Term Loan for USA Expansion (6081H)
26 Marzo 2020 - 01:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMWEB
RNS Number : 6081H
Webis Holdings PLC
26 March 2020
26 March 2020
Webis Holdings plc ("Webis" or the "Company")
W ebis agrees new Term Loan for USA Expansion
The Board of Webis, the Group specializing in pool wagering and
the operators of Cal Expo, the Californian harness track, as part
of the on-going strategy to protect and develop its USA licenses in
relation to expected impending sports betting legislation, has
agreed a Term Loan on behalf of its wholly owned subsidiary, Watch
& Wager Inc ("W&W") for the sum of US$500,000 from Galloway
Limited ("Loan").
The primarily purpose of the loan is to support the W&W
physical and on-line licenses in the State of California. As
reported to shareholders and highlighted in the recent Webis
interim report for 2019/20, there is considerable optimism for
potential legislation of licensed sports wagering in California
being passed. Most importantly, the draft Senator Gray/Dodd AC 16
Bill clearly allows for racetracks such as Cal Expo to be permitted
to operate licensed sports betting in the State. As shareholders
are aware, the Board recently extended its lease on the Cal Expo
racetrack to May 2025, with an option to extend until 2030. Given
the momentum in California and the success of sports betting in
other States such as New Jersey, it now seems inevitable that
licensed sports betting is coming to California, possibly as soon
as 2021, subject any impact that the current COVID-19 pandemic may
have.
The Board of Webis believes the development of its presences in
California and at Cal Expo especially, located in the state Capital
of Sacramento, is vital to the Company. Whilst progress has been
significant, there is much still to do to clarify detailed
legislation and to protect the track position from competing
initiatives. It is important that the legislation is drafted both
fairly and to allow for a model for growth, especially in
permitting mobile wagering and "white label" sites. This will
provide the greatest scope for new jobs in the State and
significant extra taxes/duties returned to government, as per the
successful New Jersey model. Thus the Loan will primarily be used
on lobbying, compliance and developing key structures to support
the pending license applications.
The part of the Loan will also be used to further develop and
market of our principal website, watchandwager.com/mobile. This
site continues to show good levels of growth and has the potential
for further expansion in market share.
On a related but separate subject, the Board is very aware of
the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on W&W. At
present the business continues to operate efficiently and business
continuity plans have been put in place. Our racetrack at Cal Expo
continues to operate with the approval of our regulators, albeit
behind closed doors (licensed personnel present only).
The Loan
The Loan carries a coupon 7.0% for a term of five years and is
secured against all the unencumbered assets of Webis.
Denham Eke, the non-executive Chairman of Webis, is a director
of Galloway Limited and both he and Nigel Caine, a non-Executive
Director, are directors of Burnbrae Limited of which Galloway
Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary and which is an indirect 63.1%
shareholder in Webis. Accordingly, as a Related Party Transaction
under AIM Rules, the independent Directors (being Ed Comins and Sir
James Mellon), having consulted with the Company's Nominated
Adviser, consider the terms of the Loan are fair and reasonable in
so far as Webis's shareholders are concerned.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of EU Regulation No. 596/2014 on market abuse. Upon
the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information
Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the
public domain.
Ends
For further information: -
Webis Holdings plc Beaumont Cornish Limited
Denham Eke Roland Cornish/James Biddle
Tel: +44 (0) 1624 639396 Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 3396
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END
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