Entain PLC - London-based sports betting and gambling operator via BetMGM, Coral, Ladbrokes, PartyPoker and other brands - Appoints Ricky Sandler, founder of activist investor Eminence Capital LP, to the Entain board as a non-executive director, with Entain also agreeing to appoint an additional non-executive director ‘mutually agreeable to Eminence and the company’. Sandler will be considered a non-independent non-executive director, and his three-year appointment is governed by a relationship agreement that limits Eminence to an 8% stake.

Entain doesn’t disclose Eminence’s current holding, so it is less than 5%. The intention to appoint Sandler to the Entain board was first reported by the Sunday Times last month, which said Eminence owned about 5%. The Times report followed the sudden departure of Jette Nygaard-Andersen as Entain chief executive officer in the wake of the company agreeing a deferred prosecution agreement with the UK Crown Prosecution Service in relation to bribery offences at its former Turkish firm.

Eminence manages $6.5 billion in investments. Sandler founded the firm in 1999 and is its CEO and chief investment officer. ‘Entain is a robust business with market-leading brands, a unique technology platform, and enviable positions in key geographies around the world,’ he says. ‘I look forward to working with my fellow directors to help Entain achieve long-term success and create lasting value for its shareholders.’

Entain current stock price: 1,011.30 pence, up 2.6% in London early Wednesday

12-month change: down 25%

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