Shareholders link up in bid to sell off 80% of Camelot

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Four major Camelot shareholders have joined forces to sell their combined 80 per cent stake in the National Lottery operator which could be worth up to £350 million.

Fujitsu, the Japanese technology giant, and De la Rue, the banknote printer, have linked with chocolate maker Cadburys and Thales, the French aerospace company.

Fujitsu and De la Rue each own 20 per cent of the company. Their stakes are thought to be worth about £80million each.

It is thought the pair were persuaded to wait until the start of the third Camelot licence, which came into effect on February 1.

‘Any buyer would get a good deal,’ said a source close to Camelot. ‘The third licence is for ten years, whereas previously they were for seven years. And there is also the possibility of a five-year extension.’

The four investors are exploring a collective sale of their shareholdings, so buyers have the chance to snap up 80 per cent of Camelot.

Details of the sale process are expected to be thrashed out at a Camelot board meeting in May.

The Government is believed to be keeping a close eye on the situation because of Camelot’s commitment to fund a £2.2 billion chunk of the bill for hosting the 2012 London Olympics.

Several rival lottery firms and private equity houses have expressed interest in buying the initial 40 per cent stake that had been put up for sale by Cadbury and Thales.

Any buyer would be screened by the National Lottery Commission, Camelot’s regulator, to ensure its suitability to run the Lottery.

Royal Mail, the remaining Camelot shareholder, has no plans to sell its 20per cent stake but is watching the situation carefully because of the volume of Lottery sales passing through the Post Office branch network.

Investment banks Greenhill and Rothschild are advising the sellers, while KPMG, the accounting firm, is advising Camelot’s board.