Playtech's Ava Trade deal thrown into doubt
Central Bank of Ireland opposes $105m deal although supplier giant says concerns can be addressed
Playtech’s $105m acquisition of CFD broker Ava Trade has been thrown into doubt after the supplier received a letter from the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) outlining its opposition to the deal.
Playtech this morning said it had taken legal advice on the letter, which was received on Friday, and would seek clarification from the CBI today and engage the bank “in order to discuss certain issues raised” in the letter.
The deal, which was announced in July, is subject to regulatory approval and with Ava Trade headquartered in Dublin, the takeover must receive the green light from the CBI before being completed.
The deal has already been approved by the Financial Services Commission in the British Virgin Islands, and Playtech said it believed the issues raised by the CBI, which haven’t been disclosed, can be addressed to the regulatory body’s satisfaction.
The news comes just weeks after Playtech’s acquisition of CFD trading company Plus500 suffered a minor setback with the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals taking longer than expected.
At the time Playtech said its Ava Trade acquisition was still on track to complete in the early part of this month, with that date now looking to be pushed back.
And while Playtech did not provide any details on when the deal would now complete, the firm said an update would be provided in due course.