Playtech share price plummets after Sagi sells 10% stake

Playtech’s share price plummeted by 9% this morning after it emerged its founder Teddy Sagi is to sell off £212m worth of shares reducing his stake in the firm from 49% to 39%.

Last night Sagi announced he intended to sell almost 20% of his 49% shareholding through his investment vehicle Brickington Trading, raising in excess of £212m..

The Israel-based supplier revealed that approximately 29.3 million ordinary shares would be sold at 725 pence per share through an accelerated bookbuild managed by Cannacord Genuity, Shore Capital and UBS.

The sale would see Brickington’s stake in the company fall to around 39%, but Playtech said it “remains a committed shareholder” and has agreed not to sell any further shares for another year.

The sale price is 10% less than the group’s closing share price of 814p prior to the announcement, and more than 13% down on the record high price of 836.5p the group reached last week.

Last month, Playtech revealed details of a £100m special dividend payment of which Sagi was set to receive around £76m, after recording a 26% increase in year-on-year profits.

Last October an investment vehicle rumoured to be linked to Sagi acquired around 21.8 million shares in Ladbrokes at 170p per share. The deal fell just below the 3% disclosure limit, but Ladbrokes shares jumped by 10.8p after the purchase was revealed.

Playtech could not be reached for comment on this story.