STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-PartyGaming falls; co-founder to cut stake

Shares in PartyGaming (PRTY.L) fall 12 percent to 250 pence after Indian billionaire Anurag Dikshit says he intends to sell two-thirds of his 28 percent stake in the world's biggest online gambling firm via an accelerated offering to institutional shareholders.

Nick Batram, an analyst at KBC Peel Hunt, expects the placing to be at a discount to Monday's closing price of 284.5 pence.

"My thoughts are probably somewhere between 250 and 260. I'm hearing talk the range is 255 to 275. If they get it towards the top end of that range that would suggest pretty good demand," he says.

Batram sees the move as positive for the company as it will increase its free float and bring more institutional investors on board.

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Reuters messaging rm://matthew.scuffham.reuters.com@reuters.net