On-line gambling venture Sportingbet.com announced the acquisition of US internet bookie SportsBook for up to £128.6m. The Alderney-based group will sell £8.5m worth of new shares to help fund the deal. Sportingbet will initially pay £35.9m in cash, debt and stock for the entire share capital of Internet Opportunity Entertainment and Oak Ventures Corporation, which together comprise SportsBook. Of the £35.9m, £27.1m will be due on completion and the rest, £8.8m, will be payable when 'aggregate net profits for four quarters' reach £4.2m. Furthermore, a performance-related figure of up to £93.7m is payable over seven years. House broker Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein placed 8.95m new shares in the company with investors at 98.5p to fund the initial cash sum and transaction costs. At the end of June SportsBook had 347,650 customers, nearly four times as many as Sportingbet. Founded in the Caribbean, it provides betting services in 150 countries with around 92% of its on-line betting based in North America. Sportingbet also posted figures for the three months to 30 June. Sales rose from £39.1m last year to £111.5m and pre-tax losses were trimmed from £2.4m to £998,445. The company came to the junior market from Ofex in January raising £18m.