TTB Bond Partners eye Playtech bid

The Hong Kong-based investment group has emerged as the latest interested bidder for the gaming technology provider.

UK.- The saga of the sale of the gaming technology group Playtech has taken another turn after shareholders rejected the deal agreed with Aristocrat.

The group had said it was in talks with other possible bidders, with the company likely to be sold in parts. However, it’s now confirmed that Hong Kong-based investment group TTB Bond Partners has made an approach.

Playtech said it had agreed to a request to release TTB from restrictions under the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers that prevented it from making an offer for the company. Those restrictions resulted from TTB previously playing a role in advising Gopher Investments, a minority shareholder in Playtech that had considered making a takeover offer last year before finally acquiring the company financial trading division, Finalto.

The restrictions on TTB were due to remain in place until May 20. Now they’ve been removed, the investment group is free to make an offer, although Playtech warned there was no guarantee of an offer, which if it did emerge, would likely be in cash. There is no current deadline for TTB to make an offer.

Playtech’s shareholders voted against the board’s recommended deal to sell the company to Australian slot machine maker Aristocrat. The £2.7bn deal was rejected by 43.8 per cent of Playtech’s shareholders.

Playtech’s board has said that it will now look to sell the company in parts and that it was already evaluating proposals for its B2B and B2C subsidiaries. It’s already planning to spin off Caliplay, its joint venture with Mexico’s Caliente.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that Playtech will power The Jockey Club’s online casino offering for the British Horseracing group’s launch of online gaming.