Playtech shares plunge as TTB Partners abandons acquisition plans

TTB Partners has confirmed it has no intention of making an offer for Playtech, citing “challenging underlying market conditions” as it reason to ditch the potential takeover.

The news spooked investors, resulting in the London-listed supplier’s shares plummeting almost 20% to 414p at the time of writing and about £300m being wiped off the firm’s value.

Confirmation of no offer comes ahead of the 15 July deadline, when the Hong Kong-headquartered company had to either make a bid or walk away from the negotiations entirely. The two firms have been in discussions for months.

TTB originally showed interest in pursuing an all-cash deal for Playtech in February after a multi-billion-pound takeover by Aristocrat was shot down by Playtech investors.

At the time, a sizable portion of Playtech’s investors in Asia rebuffed the advance, preventing the company from obtaining the necessary 75% clearance.

Playtech’s operations have continued as usual despite reports that the company might be shut down if the Aristocrat transaction fell through.

Soon after, Playtech began discussions with TTB. TTB reportedly collaborated on its proposal with the assistance of Playtech CEO Mor Weizer and former Playtech CEO Tom Hall.

Playtech granted TTB an extension from the previous deadline of 17 June as negotiations were progressing and additional time was deemed required to hash out a deal.

In a statement confirming its decision to walk away, TTB said: “TTB remains supportive of the board, the executive management team, their strategy for Playtech and the prospects for the business. TTB also intends to support the board’s efforts to maximise shareholder value.”

Weizer said the supplier remained confident over its long-term future despite the setback.

He said: “We remain confident in our long-term growth prospects and, in particular, our ability to benefit from the structured agreements that are already allowing Playtech to access newly opened gambling markets.”

The long-protracted bidding war for Playtech began in October 2021, when Aristocrat seemingly agreed a £2.7bn deal, which then faced rival bids from Gopher Investments and a consortium led by former Formula 1 boss Eddie Jordan.

Aristocrat appeared to have weathered the storm over the challenges before the dramatic collapse of its takeover in February.

In response to TTB’s decision, Playtech also highlighted its strong financial performance.

The supplier has reported a 12% increase in revenue for 2021 and expects to post an adjusted EBITDA of more than €200m (£169.2m) for H1 2022.