Shares in Intuitive Investments Group PLC (AIM:IIG) bounced 15% after it agreed to buy Chinese lottery investment group Hui10 Inc.
The closed-ended investment company will issue 1,911,529,540 shares to the current owners of Hui10 as payment.
Hui10 owns a 33% stake in Beijing Huishi Dehua Information Technology Co, which provides a digital platform designed to enable people in China to play the lottery via their smartphone, and a 60% shareholding in Beijing Huishi Chunyuan Technical Development Co, trading as Lucky World, which has a technology platform to enable China's lottery-only shops to sell a wider range of fast-moving consumer goods.
Sir Nigel Rudd, who became non-executive chairman of IIG during the summer, tweaked the strategy and moved the company from AIM to London’s main market, said: “I have had a career of realising shareholder value and believe the investment into Hui10 represents a transformational opportunity for the company.
“I strongly believe Hui10 has the capability to return shareholders many times their investment at flotation and from the current share price."
Rudd was the founder of former FTSE 100 group Williams as well as holding board roles at Barclays, BAA, Boots and Pendragon.
As part of the investment, IIG said Giles Willits, who invested in Hui10 in 2018, will be joining the board with a specific job of overseeing Hui10.
Willits is the former chief financial officer of FTSE 250-listed Entertainment One, finance director at Sainsbury’s and most recently CFO at AIM-listed IG Design.