Tintra sale of lottery business moves to final phase

The AIM-traded firm said its regulatory and administrative complexities had now been “materially addressed”, and the transaction was moving into its final phase.

It had hoped that completion would have occurred already, but the board confirmed that had not been the case.

“However, now these variables are known, the parties are moving along to drafting of the final sale and purchase agreement for the transaction,” Tintra said on Friday.

“The board, and indeed the buyer, are confident that the transaction will be completed in a timely fashion.”

Tintra said a tight deadline was set to achieve the disposal of the lottery administration business in an environment with regulatory complexity.

It explained that, while the non-binding “tight timeline” added into the heads of terms had moved “slightly”, the board and the buyer were both “pleased” with the speed and “air of collaboration” with which the challenges were addressed and overcome.

“We at Sterling are enjoying working collaboratively with the Tintra team, and very much look forward to completing the transaction,” said Richard Dixon, managing director of Sterling Management Centre.

Additionally, and in preparation for the disposal of Prize Provision Services, the board said it had resolved to dissolve the company's wholly-owned subsidiary PPS Blockchain.

“This subsidiary, announced on 8 March 2019, was established for a proposed lottery joint venture based around blockchain technology,” Tintra explained.

“It has not progressed in any meaningful way and as such the board has decided to dissolve PPS Blockchain as the final part of the company's exit from the lottery sector.”

At 1551 GMT, shares in Tintra were up 29.06% at 206.5p.