Australian gaming manufacturer Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. is closer to the acquisition of Playtech plc. Playtech has confirmed that the sale of its financial division, Finalto, will proceed as intended after shareholders gave their approval on Wednesday. The company is divesting the division to Gopher as it prepares to be acquired by Aristocrat.
Finalto Sale Paves the Way for Deal Completion
Aristocrat finds Playtech’s online gaming platform as an exclusive opportunity to bolster its market share in digital markets in Europe, the United States, and beyond. The company was briefly pitted in a bidding war against Gopher, which thought about buying Playtech as well but reconsidered and withdrew from the race. Gopher is reportedly acquiring the financial division for $250 million.
Aristocrat has confirmed in a filing that the offloading of Finalto to Gopher satisfies the acquisition offer it has put forward and was one of its key conditions. The merger, should all go well, is slated to complete in the second quarter of 2022. Aristocrat CEO and managing director Trevor Croker offered an update on the matter:
“The approval given by Playtech shareholders to dispose of Finalto meets a condition of Aristocrat’s recommended offer and is a further step forward in the completion process.”
Aristocrat CEO and managing director Trevor Croker
Regulatory and Financial Certainty for Shareholders
Croker assured that Aristocrat is presently the only bidder for the company and that the Playtech board has recommended the bid to proceed. Croker added that the bid by his company would provide Playtech’s existing shareholders with regulatory and financial certainty as well as an opportunity for Playtech employees to be a part of a leading global organization.
Aristocrat’s tabled offer is $2.9 billion and is one of the biggest acquisition moves in the industry that will see the creation of a new gaming giant on the international industry scene.
There were rumors that JKO Play has become the third entity bidding for Playtech’s acquisition, but those have now been dismissed by Croker’s update and previous assurances that Playtech and Aristocrat were working together to arrange the merger.