JP Morgan Quickly Backtracks On Entain Stake; Bulk Dropped

JP Morgan has dumped the bulk of its shares in Entain, cutting its stake to below the 3% mark. A Notification of Major Holdings statement sent yesterday morning confirmed the global banking behemoth had sharply dropped its holdings in the Ladbrokes and Coral owner to below the minimum 5% threshold that is required to trigger an announcement.

The move was surprising given JP Morgan had upped its shares in Entain to 7% only a fortnight ago. At the time, the breakdown of shares was split into 5.6% in voting rights, with the other 1.4% attributed to financial instruments. The latter entailed cash-settled equity swaps with various expiration dates through to 2031.

A striking move

Previously, JP Morgan boosted its Entain shares after the hedge fund firm Eminence Capital wound up. Eminence founder Ricky Sandler, who also served as a Non-Executive Director at Entain, held a 5.8% stake in the company before he offloaded his shares.

The news had represented a serious blow to Entain, given Eminence was the third-largest shareholder behind Capital Group and Dodge & Cox with a 6.5% stake.

As far as JP Morgan was concerned, upping its shares in Entain was widely viewed as a sign that it had faith in the long-term sustainability of the gambling group.

JP Morgan didn’t give a specific reason as to why it had dropped its stake in Entain. However, the banking giant has been retreating and it has carried out a series of share sales behind the scenes.

Entain holding steady

What is noticeable is how quietly the markets absorbed the volume of shares exchanged. Indeed, shares in Entain remained relatively stable between May 8 and May 15, opening on May 8 at 532.2p and then closing at 532.4p on May 15.

Despite the rapid selling-off activity, Entain’s share price has held relatively firm. Shares were trading at around the 537p mark yesterday afternoon, suggesting the company was unaffected by the JP Morgan announcement.

Snapshot of Entain’s finances

Entain has been the subject of serious speculation in recent months, with rumours bandied about in relation to a potential takeover or a full restructure. However, there has been no official word from the Entain board indicating whether this might be the case.

While the JP Morgan share reshuffle will have been disappointing, Entain has been making progress on the financial front. The Full-Year (FY) 2025 group-wide revenue sat at over £5.3 billion, while Entain reported a 6% uptick in its net gaming revenue (NGR) year-on-year.

A “long-term industry winner”

While some eyebrows will have been raised over JP Morgan’s aggressive share offloading activity, Entain CEO Stella David remains undeterred. Rather, she is convinced the gambling group is well-placed to tackle the acute economic challenges ahead, namely the hike in betting taxes placed on online sports wagers from 15% to 25%, which comes into effect in April 2027.

In a Q1 trading update provided last month, David said:

“We entered 2026 with strong momentum which has continued in Q1, with strong volume growth across our diversified portfolio. This further demonstrates our ongoing strategic execution and strengthening operations, and also highlights the growth embedded in our globally scaled business.

“Our sharper focus and optimisation initiatives reinforce our conviction in delivering sustainable growth and improving cash generation. Entain remains well positioned to be a long-term industry winner, seizing the many opportunities ahead, and I am confident in our future.”