Sky News Continues Business Exclusives Success

Sky News last week broke another exclusive business news story, all thanks to the channel's recent business appointment, City Editor Mark Kleinman.  His latest scoop, broken on the network on Thursday evening, was that a controlling stake in Camelot, the National Lottery operator, is to be auctioned off next month.

According to Kleinman, the sale process raises the prospect of the Lottery effectively falling into the hands of an overseas lottery operator or an investor such as a private equity firm. He explained that four of Camelot’s five shareholders, including Cadbury and De La Rue, the banknote printer, have decided to cash in their 20 per cent stakes, which are estimated to be worth about £80m each.

Rothschild and Greenhill, the investment banks, are to send out documents to interested bidders next month. Sir Richard Branson, who bid for the licence on two previous occasions, is likely to look at the information on Camelot but it is not clear whether he will make a formal bid.

Mark Kleinman said: “The sale of a majority stake in Camelot has been on the cards for some time. It is potentially embarrassing for the Government, which went through a lengthy licence bid process before awarding a ten-year licence to Camelot.”

The latest exclusive positions Sky News' business unit clearly on the scope of the european business networks as a new fighting force in the field of business news journalism.