Hong Kong firm willing to up investment to seal Baazov Amaya takeover
Goldenway Capital confirms continued support for Baazov despite withdrawal of co-investor
One of the named investors behind David Baazov’s £5bn bid to take Amaya private has said it will up its financial contribution to help close the deal.
The takeover looked in danger of falling apart Wednesday when one of the other named investors, KBC Aldini, said it had no involvement in the deal and didn’t even know what Amaya was.
And while the public confusion would appear to make a deal increasingly unlikely, one of the other named investors, Hong Kong-based Goldenway Capital, told EGR: “We are in full support of David Baazov and are prepared to increase our commitment if so required in order to conclude a successful transaction.”
Baazov also made a statement Wednesday evening where he confirmed he would seek replacement finance for the absent KBC and still intends to buy Amaya on the same terms as his original £5bn offer.
In an attempt to clarify the confusion on Wednesday, Baazov said in a statement: “The equity commitment letter purported to be delivered to Mr. Baazov on behalf of KBC was delivered without KBC’s knowledge or consent and KBC has not committed to provide financing for the proposed acquisition of Amaya.”
EGR understands the mix-up occurred when a major investor in the KBC fund agreed to back the Amaya purchase through the fund, but never squared the arrangement with KBC itself.
It is thought that investor is still willing to back the Amaya purchase without KBC’s backing.
Amaya share price was up approximately 1% to C$18.8 at the close of trading in Toronto on Wednesday.