Playtech has reaffirmed its commitment to completing the £2.7 billion Aristocrat acquisition, urging shareholders to support the plan at the company’s next meeting at the start of next month. 

Playtech: Aristocrat Takeover Imminent 

The gaming technology company says the bid represents an “attractive opportunity” to boost long-term volume ahead of February 2, 2022 shareholder meetings to accept the offer.

The comments follow a Sky News article speculating that firm directors are preparing contingency plans to break apart and sell off the company’s main business segments if the Aristocrat deal fails. Concerns about the transaction being rejected by Asian investors are specially mentioned. It is predicted that these investors, estimated to possess around 25% of the company, could vote in concert to halt the sale.

Despite this, Eddie Jordan, JKO’s chairman, claims that the business would “continue to assess a variety of options in the gaming and related technology areas, where we see attractive development prospects in several international markets.” Sky News speculates that concerns about the intentions of Asian shareholders played a role in JKO’s decision to withdraw. The company’s complete statement reads as follows: “Playtech takes note of recent media speculation on the company’s future strategy. The board of directors reiterates its advice to shareholders to accept Aristocrat Leisure Limited’s offer.

Gopher Investments had also made previous overtures. This 4.97 percent stakeholder acquired the group’s Final financial services subsidiary in December, fulfilling one of the primary prerequisites for Aristocrat’s proposed acquisition of the company. One day after JKO entered the fray, Gopher dropped its acquisitive intentions.

After its initial approach, Aristocrat has continually remained the frontrunner to secure any prospective merger. Its offer was valued at £2.7 billion, or 680 pence per share, a 58 percent premium to the company’s closing price during the week before to make its initial move.

If the acquisition is successful, the Australian-listed gaming producer has stated that it intends to use its new Snaitech subsidiary to ‘operate and innovate’ in Europe while increasing its revenue, expanding its customer reach, and providing meaningful scale in online gaming. Previously, it was suggested that the transaction could close in the second quarter of 2022.

JKO Withdrawal

According to the article, these preparatory steps were hastened following JKO Play’s withdrawal from the takeover competition last week. JKO Play is a 0.51 percent shareholder in Playtech.

“While Playtech has made substantial strategic and operational progress and is well-positioned for the future, Aristocrat’s proposal offers shareholders an appealing opportunity to expedite the achievement of Playtech’s longer-term value.”