acle Sports shareholders have been informed that a controlling stake in the operator has been sold to an anonymous investor.

Alternative Trading Partners (ATP), a Las Vegas-based boutique mergers and acquisition firm, issued a notice last week informing shareholders that an unidentified party or parties had purchased “a controlling interest in the business”.

The only information that was passed on about the purchaser was that they were advised by Dublin’s FinRes and London-based law firm Mayer Brown.

ATP managing directors Thomas Brunet and Kyle Carlston said: “The sports-betting industry is maturing and moving towards the direction of modern financial markets.

"Pinnacle Sports has always been, and still remains to this day, at the forefront of this evolution.

“Offering the tightest lines with the highest limits, Pinnacle Sports is one of the most respected bookmakers with its ever-evolving proprietary trading system at its core.

"It took a buyer with a forward-looking vision and financial background to bring this transaction to a successful conclusion.”

Pinnacle, a Curacao-based bookmaker, announced in September it would be pulling out of the UK market following the passing of the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act, having withdrawn from the US market in 2007.