Playtech takeover battle takes on a new twist

The protracted pursuit of online gambling software provider Playtech has experienced a curveball, with the latest reports indicating that the CEO and Group Director, Mor Weizer has expressed a potential desire to explore taking part in the investment group TTB Partner’s acquisition offer.

Based in Hong Kong, but already with a substantial amount of shares in the premier software provider, TTB entered the race for a full buyout of Playtech, shortly after Australian company Aristocrat Leisure submitted their initial bid towards the end of 2021.

Reportedly, it is not just Weizer who is believed to have cultivated an interest in joining TTB’s bid, but also former Playtech Director, Thomas Hall.

What is the latest in the chase for Playtech?

Just last month, it was reported that Aristocrat had ultimately pulled out of its pursuit of the firm, with its bid of £2.7 billion falling way short of the valuation, while it was also believed that ex-Formula 1 supremo Eddie Jordan had significantly eclipsed this bid with an offer of his own.

Meanwhile, it is also understood that Gopher Investments, which is the financial services division of Playtech had entered the fray as well towards the end of last year, in what was emerging as a highly intriguing bidding war.

Playtech remains one of the last original online gambling software providers after competitor NetEnt, which was also founded in the mid-late nineties was bought by Evolution Gaming towards the end of 2020, with the entire group rebranding as ‘Evolution’.

Over the last two decades and beyond, the firm has steadily grown into one of the leading and most well-respected online gambling software providers in the industry and is particularly well-known by enthusiasts around the world.

The fact that it is still chiefly independent says a lot about the brand, with Microgaming perhaps the only other that started at around a similar time also being in the same position.

Under founder Teddy Sagi, the company developed into one of the industry’s luminaries, with the Israeli entrepreneur not only sourcing venture capital in Tel Aviv, but also masterminding a strategy to hire the best mathematicians and statisticians from around Europe so that his company could create some of the best slots and games in the industry at the time.

It quickly grew into one of the most reputable providers for the industry, becoming especially well known for its jackpot games which were famous for record payouts to winners around the world. 

As the takeover battle rumbles on, it remains to be seen whether there will be a new owner any time soon or if it will stay more or less, independently owned.