Playtech looks to raise £100m
Software provider looks to build war chest to fund combination of "imminent" JVs, acquisitions and investments.
Playtech will look to raise £100m to finance “acquisition opportunities and investments in new joint ventures”, the AIM-listed software provider has announced to the market morning.
In a statement Playtech said: “The cost of [acquisition] opportunities currently under review vary in size up to approximately £40m,” while anticipated joint venture’s would see investments of between 15m and 30m from the company. Nick Batram, analyst at Peel Hunt, said today’s placing was a clear sign that “deals are imminent”.
The listing, due on 21 December, will comprise the placement of more than 46.5m shares at a discounted 215p each, with the process underwritten by Brickington, a company owned by Playtech founder and majority (40%) shareholder Teddy Sagi.
The is represents a 2.5% discount on the price at which Playtech shares closed last night, and comes a week after the Israeli-founded company named Collins Stewart as its sole broker replacing Deutsche Bank. Playtech also confirmed its intention to float on the main market in the first half of 2012.
Sagi, under his Brickington venture, currently has a 40.3% shareholding in the company. This figure can now be increased to a maximum of 49.9%, something which analyst Simon French of Panmure Gordon believes could “unnerve” the market, retaining his firm’s ‘Hold’ recommendation as a consequence. James Hollins, analyst at Evolution Securities added this would “upset the anti-Sagi brigade” but that otherwise it was “good news”.
Upon publishing its first-half results in August, the company noted “exceptional joint venture and near term acquisition opportunities currently under discussion in certain key markets”, and the £100m placing is expected to raise funds for both bolt-on acquisitions and strategic joint ventures.
Recent deals include the acquisition of Sagi’s PT Turnkey Services for an initial 140m, while the US-facing freeplay poker offering from the partnership between its SciPlay joint venture and the California Online Poker Association went live last month.