Playtech Acquisition of Snaitech Completed Sooner than Expected
When the online casino games and software developer, Playtech, announced that it was in the process of acquiring a majority stake in the Italian gambling company, Snaitech, it created quite a buzz in the industry. After all, it is isn’t every day that a EUR 846 million (R12,330,450,000) deal is announced in the industry.
Now, Playtech has announced that the deal to acquire Snaitech will be completed sooner than expected after it received Italian regulatory approval. The Italian regulator gave the green light to the multi million rand deal and the London-listed Playtech has now said that it expects the deal to be completed in June, 2018.
Originally, Playtech had said that it expected the original purchase of about 70% of Snaitech to only take place in the third quarter of the year, pending approval from regulators and shareholders.
Playtech received backing from shareholders to purchase the first 70.6%, and is obligated to make an offer to buy the remainder of the company’s shares on the same terms.
Snaitech is considered a major snag for Playtech. In 2017, the company generated underlying earnings of EUR 136 million on revenue of EUR 890 million. Playtech said that it was funding the acquisition with a combination of existing cash resources and new debt facilities.
Announcing the deal last month, Mor Weizer, chief executive officer of Playtech said: “The acquisition of Snaitech represents the continuation of our strategy to invest in leading retail brands in fast growing, regulated markets,” said Mor Weizer, the chief executive officer of Playtech
“The acquisition delivers the board’s strategic objective to improve the quality and diversification of group revenue, whilst delivering exposure to high growth end markets, by utilizing the strength of Playtech’s balance sheet,” Weizer added.
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