Is Gopher Investments Hijacking the Playtech Deal? The investment firm starts a bidding war it will likely lose. Read why Aristocrat will win! (Photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash)
It has been a topsy-turvy couple of weeks on the subject of Playtech as it seems that the entire financial market is confirming that Hong Kong investment firm Gopher Investments is indeed pushing Playtech for an acquisition deal. This time for UK£ 3 billion (US$ 4.05 billion/ EU€ 3.5 billion), which is a slightly higher figure.
Now we are seeing another incredible unravelling of desire in what appears to be a financial tussle for Playtech with an offer that beat the original put forward by Aristocrat Leisure.
Just 3 weeks ago, on 18 October 2021, Australian online casino firm Aristocrat Leisure confirmed an AU$ 5 billion/UK£ 2.73 billion (US$ 3.7 billion/EU€ 3.1 billion) offer to acquire the entire Playtech brand. At the time Playtech PLC (PTEC) shares jumped from 429.20 GBX to 678.5 GBX 0. Since then, the deal has presumably quietly moved forward.
Not only that but there may also even be another party interested in a take over further on down the line as company shares were busy with Hao Liu snapping up £ 3.4m increasing the company’s holdings by 8.6%. Yet, that may just be an investment move because the purchase has proved to be one that has paid off when you consider the 58% share increase on 18 October.
The Reuter confirmed Gopher Investments bid, and the amount on the table is not that much more than Aristocrat’s original bid, but it does put an extra quarter of a billion Sterling on the table.
Is a Bidding Wat Imminent? It is likely that this will start a bidding war and Playtech shareholders such as Hao Liu will be looking at the highest bidder. On the other hand, Playtech big wigs will want to see the firm go in the right direction. All that being said, there’s much more to the story than meets the eye.
Should Playtech Stick with Aristocrat Due to Market Knowledge?
iGaming is a tough business to keep up with as the takeover deal just keeps on coming. Last year we saw NetEnt buy Red Tiger, then NetEnt and Red Tiger fall under the wing of Evolution.
Next up was Big Time Gaming (BTG), the inventor of Megaways, falling into the hands of Evolution too. We could also count William Hill as a recent iGaming take over as 888 Holdings recently agreed to take over the European division, which would presumably mean online casinos licensed by the UKGC, the MGA, and Gibraltar authorities. 888 Holdings is the owner of 888 Casino, which you will find in our online casino reviews section.
What do all these bids have in common? Every take over was one that comes via a company that has experience in iGaming or sports betting. The reason these deals all look great is that someone with inside market knowledge and understanding will be in control.
- NetEnt’s takeover of Red Tiger was 2 video slot companies coming together.
- Evolution’s takeover of NetEnt/Red Tiger was an unbelievably successful Evolution live dealer iGaming company taking over another iGaming company.
- And the acquisition of BTG by Evolution also made perfect sense by bringing another slot provider into the mix growing Evolution’s RNG side of the business.
- 888 Holdings offer for William Hill is also another great example of a business within sports betting and iGaming taking over sports betting and iGaming business.
Aristocrat makes sense: The company is already immensely successful in both the online casino and land-based casino industry, which is perfect for the Playtech casinos division. Now Playtech is also in the business of sports betting too, which Aristocrat also has some experience both online and in the retail betting sector. Aristocrat already has licenses and is in contact with licensors which will see Playtech push forward quickly under new direction. Gopher Management does not have close to the same iGaming or sports betting market experience or connections.
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