Playtech sells remaining Sportech stake
Sale sees Israeli supplier almost double its money since £10m investment in January 2010
Playtech has sold its remaining 5% stake in Sportech just days after selling the first half of its total 10% shareholding.
Earlier this week Playtech CEO Mor Weizer stepped down as a non-executive director of Sportech’s board after the firm reduced its shareholding to 4.99% , a position he had held since the Israeli supplier acquired a strategic stake in Sportech in January 2010 for around £10m.
Sportech’s share price has steadily increased since Playtech’s initial investment. The operator issued the shares to Playtech priced at 50p each, of which Playtech took 19.88 million, with its share price at 80p at the time of writing.
Analyst Simon French of Panmure Gordon said in a note this morning that while he was “surprised at the timing and manner of these events” he did not “think it damages Sportech’s US growth ambitions.”
“With New Jersey casinos having to choose their software partners by the end of next week, Playtech looks like missing out on the first wave of US regulation.”
Sportech CEO Ian Penrose told eGR earlier this week that the commercial relationship between the two companies, which has seen all of the operator’s egaming products migrated onto Playtech’s platform, is unaffected.
Playtech’s £10m investment in 2012 helped Sportech fund its acquisition of Scientific Games Racing, the US-based pari-mutuel and venue management business division of Scientific Games Corporation.