Playtech said on Wednesday it did not expect its shareholders to approve a proposed takeover deal by Aristocrat and was considering other “attractive” M&A proposals from third-parties.
The UK gambling software developer needs approval from 75% of shareholders voting at a meeting scheduled on Wednesday to proceed with Australia-based Aristocrat’s 2.1 billion pound ($2.84 billion) offer. The final results of a shareholder vote will be announced later today.
“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,” Aristocrat CEO Trevor Croker said in a statement. Aristocrat said most of the dissenting Playtech shareholders took stakes in the company after its 680 pence-per-share offer was announced in October 2021, as reported by Reuters.
Among investors taking stakes after the offer announcement are Hong Kong-based Paul Suen, part-owner of English football club Birmingham City; and Stanley Choi, according to regulatory filings. The two are among Playtech’s top 10 shareholders.
Last year, Playtech was approached by Hong Kong-based investor Gopher Investments, its second-largest shareholder, which walked away in November as it decided to acquire only the financial arm of the company, Finalto. Also, JKO Play consortium, led by former Formula One team boss Eddie Jordan, entered the race, and in January Playtech delayed its shareholder vote on Aristocrat’s takeover proposal from its previously scheduled January 12 date to February 2, in order to have more time to consider this proposal. According to the Financial Times, JKO had planned to sell Playtech’s Italian business to Entain before Jordan withdrew in January.
