Kenneth Dart pauses Flutter buying at 31.4% stake
The purchases of Flutter Entertainment by billionaire investor Kenneth Dart have been put on hold, leaving him with an economic stake of 31.4% in the company which owns FanDuel and Paddy Power. Dart’s economic stake is composed of an 18.8% ownership of ordinary shares and 12.6% through cash-settled…
The purchases of Flutter Entertainment by billionaire investor Kenneth Dart have been put on hold, leaving him with an economic stake of 31.4% in the company which owns FanDuel and Paddy Power. Dart’s economic stake is composed of an 18.8% ownership of ordinary shares and 12.6% through cash-settled equity swaps. Dart’s last purchase of shares was recorded in August 2026. He first publicly disclosed a 5% stake in Flutter about a year ago, and continued making purchases until he reached the 20% mark in March. Since less than 30% of Dart’s overall stake is direct ownership, his stake does not trigger any mandatory takeover bids. Cash-settled swaps allow holding of Flutter shares without the accompanying voting rights. In addition, Flutter announced that Peter Jackson will vacate the CEO position on 30 September. Dan Taylor, the current CEO of Flutter International and a president of Flutter will take on the duty of the new CEO. Flutter also announced that Group CEO Peter Jackson will step down on 30 September. Dan Taylor, currently CEO of Flutter International and President of Flutter, will become CEO on 1 October. Taylor said following the announcement: Our priority will be to keep delivering for our colleagues, customers and shareholders, while building on the momentum we’ve created. Dart has previously increased his presence in the US sports betting market. The investor made news last week by indicating that he now owns 5.8% of DraftKings, one of Flutter’s key rivals in the US gambling sphere. As a result of Dart’s initiative, he now has stakes in two leading online sportsbooks in the United States, namely DraftKings and FanDuel. The development of Dart’s efforts in Sweden brought different regulatory implications. Via his investment vehicle known as Candle Lake Limited, Dart managed to get a stake in Evolution above 30% threshold as of July (30.02%). As of recently, Dart has gotten a direct stake of 31.6% and an economic interest of 33.8%, taking into account the swaps, in Evolution. At the same time, Dart maintains his stake in Flutter at the level of 31.4% from the economic point of view.