SIS shareholder launches buy-back exercise

One of SIS's biggest shareholders, Catalyst Media Group, is mounting a share buy-back exercise, buoyed by its share of the betting-shop service provider’s £20 million paid out in July, writes Howard Wright.

CMG’s latest pick-up from its sole remaining asset, a 20.54 per cent stake in SIS, amounted to £4.1m.

The group, which vies with Ladbrokes and William Hill as the biggest investors in SIS, is offering to purchase up to more than 3.4m of its 27.64m 10p ordinary shares, paying up to 75p per share. In a similar exercise last year CMG bought back just over 500,000 shares at 50p each and a further 1.7m at 45p each.