Jason Ader builds $100m Playtech position

Activist investor Jason Ader has built a $100m position in Playtech and could use the stake to press for a sale of the company, according to a new report in The Times.

Ader, best known for his role in pushing for the sale of bwin.party to GVC, said Playtech needed to take steps to “improve its reputation, governance and stock price” and he looked forward to “continuing a dialogue” with the board.

According to The Times, Ader’s SpringOwl hedge fund owns approximately 5% of the London-listed provider, and is expected to “press for asset disposals or a sale of the company, although his initial focus is understood to be corporate governance.”

Specifically the investor is thought to be pushing for a replacement for embattled chairman Alan Jackson.

More than 35% of Playtech shareholder voted against the re-election of Jackson at Playtech’s AGM, while Playtech recently added former Sportech CEO Ian Penrose to its board, with some suggesting he was seen internally as a successor to Jackson.

The firm has seen its value fall by almost 50% in the last year following two profit warnings amid increased competition in Asia.

Last week the provider reported a revenue increase of 4% in H1 to €437m, but half year profits plummeted by 34%.

A Playtech spokesperson said: “We continually engage with our shareholders and value their feedback.”

Ader has made his voice heard at several publically-listed gambling companies, including Amaya, where he called on the firm to move on from David Baazov, and bwin.party, where he was seen as pushing through the sale to GVC, although one source with knowledge of the deal said Ader had managed to take credit “something that was nothing to do with him”.