Yahoo Finance Chinese scupper £2.7bn takeover of British gambling champion
Chinese investors have blocked a takeover of the British company that has pioneered much of the world’s online gambling technology.
The £2.7bn acquisition of Playtech, the FTSE 250 group founded by Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi, collapsed on Wednesday after a block of shareholders opposed the deal.
Playtech’s suitor, the Australian slots machine operator Aristocrat, has withdrawn its offer and is now considering its options.
Asian investors, understood to include former Playtech chief executive Tom Hall as well as Paul Suen, the owner of Birmingham City, billionaire heiress Karen Lo, the former owner of Wigan Athletic and professional poker star Stanley Choi, opposed Aristocrat's takeover attempt.
Collectively they own about 28pc of Playtech shares. In total, some 45pc of investors opposed the swoop, Playtech said.
Trevor Croker, chief executive of Aristocrat, said: “The emergence of a certain group of shareholders who built a blocking stake while refusing to engage with either ourselves or Playtech materially impacted the prospects for the success of our offer.”
Meanwhile, sources close to Playtech said that the investors had not responded to repeated requests to sound them out about their views on the takeover.
Aristocrat is now understood to be reticent to return to the negotiating table in the knowledge that the group of shareholders will spurn its approach a second time.
The collapse of the Aristocrat deal marks the latest twist in a tumultuous few months for Playtech.
After agreeing a deal with Aristocrat, the largest gambling machine maker in Australia, Hong Kong-based Gopher Investments, Playtech’s second-biggest shareholder, opened talks over a counter bid. Gopher dropped out of the running weeks later.
However, former Formula One team owner Eddie Jordan opened talks about a possible £3bn bid by consortium JKO. Mr Jordan’s interest also lapsed in January.
City sources said that Gopher could now rekindle its takeover bid.
Founded in 1999, Playtech has developed technology behind some of the most popular online casino products. It also owns Snaitech, one Italy’s biggest customer-facing betting companies.
Brian Mattingley, the Playtech chairman, said: “This process has shone a spotlight on the fundamental premium value of Playtech’s businesses. Playtech is the leading technology company in the gambling industry, with an unrivalled quality and breadth of products.
“Snai is the number one sports brand across retail and online betting in the Italian market. In the event that the Aristocrat offer does not proceed, the board is determined to pursue options to maximise value for all shareholders and accelerate validation of that value.”
Shares rose 2pc to 588p in afternoon trading.
