Plus500’s shareholders have accepted software developer Playtech’s 400p-per-share offer for the trading platform.
The FTSE AIM-listed company gave the green light to the £459.6 million (€627.2 million/$702.2 million) takeover today (Thursday) despite there having been vocal opposition from Odey Asset Management, which owns about 25% of stock, since the bid was launched in early June.
Plus500’s board backed the bid with their 35% of holdings, while Playtech, which spent £148.5 million on a 91.1% stake in options broker TradeFX earlier this year, already held about 10% of the shares.
“We are delighted to have secured the support of Plus500’s shareholders,” said Mor Weizer, chief executive of Playtech.
“The combination of TradeFX and Plus500 will enable us to apply our market-leading products and services to the enlarged financial trading business as we continue to execute our growth strategy for the group.”
Plus500’s board backed Playtech’s bid last month after regulatory problems with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) saw its share price drop from 770p in May to 369.44p by early June.
Playtech expects to issue a circular to shareholders later this month to convene a general meeting to seek approval for the acquisition.
source : www.igamingbusiness.com
