A consortium of ex-Entain execs who in June acquired a 6.57% stake in 888 Holdings to promptly put themselves forward as the new Executive Chair, CEO, and CFO have had their job aspirations torched by a series of probes. The FS Group pitched Lee Feldman, Stephen Morana, and Kenny Alexander for the roles of Executive Chairman, CFO, and CEO of 888, respectively.
According to the Evening Standard on Monday, it’s the historic involvement of Alexander and fellow FS Group execs in Turkish and Brazilian markets that has the UK Gambling Commission investigating their investment into 888. At the same time, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs is conducting a bribery investigation into Entain’s former Turkish subsidiary Sportingbet, which Alexander oversaw the purchase and sale of in 2011 and 2017, respectively.
With potential probe fallout including a possible loss of 888’s license in addition to more fines to add to the record ￡19.2m ($25.12m) received by the operator in March, 888 Executive Chair Lord Mendelsohn issued a statement saying his board:
had no option but to terminate discussions” with Alexander, Morana, and Feldman.
Mendelsohn added, however, that 888 would announce a new CEO “in the very near future,” which didn’t stop his firm’s shares crashing Monday, closing down 25.2%.