Playtech Shareholders Crush Aristocrat’s Takeover Dreams
In a surprising turn of events, UK based gambling software developer Playtech said on Wednesday that the long-anticipated acquisition by Australian Aristocrat has been swept off the table. Company shareholders have rejected the takeover bid and Playtech is now considering other “attractive” M&A proposals from third-parties.
Aristocrat’s $3.7 billion offer needed the support of at least 75% of the shareholders. Nevertheless, the results of a shareholder vote held on Wednesday revealed that more than 45% voted against the deal.
Prior to the vote, Aristocrat CEO Trevor Croker said in a statement.
“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.”
Shortly after the news broke on Wednesday, Sky News reported that the British online gambling firm could soon receive a bid from TT Bond Partners, a Hong Kong-based investment firm. Playtech or TT Bond did not respond yet to the rumors.
A week ago, news broke that Eddie Jordan’s JKO is also out of the race for the software development giant.
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Source: igaming
