JKO Play given until January 5 to make Playtech bid

The UK takeover panel has set a deadline for JKO Play Limited to make a firm offer to acquire Playtech as the race for the gaming technology provider heats up.

UK.- The Takeover Panel has given JKO Play Limited a deadline of January 5 to make a firm bid for Playtech as Eddie Jordan’s company seeks to unseat Aristocrat’s acquisition of the gaming technology provider.

Under the City Code on Mergers, JKO must communicate a firm intent to make an offer for Playtech by 5.00pm on January 5 or announce that it does not intend to acquire the company.

Aristocrat reached an agreement to buy Playtech for £2.7bn in October, and a shareholder vote is due to be held at a meeting on January 12.

However, JKO Play Limited has stepped in with its own proposal. The company is run by Eddie Jordan, former owner of the Jordan Grand Prix Formula One team, and former SG Digital executive Keith O’Loughlin.

Playtech’s board maintains that Australia’s Aristocrat remains the best option to ensure “certainty and liquidity” for its shareholders, and Aristocrat has said it is still confident it will get its deal, which would be likely to complete in the second quarter of 2022 if it gets shareholders’ approval.

The Takeover Panel deadline will cease to apply if another party announces their intent to buy Playtech beforehand.

Meanwhile, Playtech’s shareholders have approved the sale of the company’s financial trading division Finalto to the minority investor Gopher Investments, which was required under Aristocrat’s deal.

Gopher itself had expressed an interest in acquiring Playtech as a whole but has withdrawn its interest.