1st Jun 2015 06:28
LONDON (Alliance News) - Playtech PLC on Monday said it has reached an agreement to acquire troubled online contracts-for-difference trading platform Plus500 Ltd in a GBP459.6 million deal.
Under the deal, Playtech, which provides software and services for the gaming industry and which has recently moved into the foreign exchange trading sector, will pay 400 pence per share for Plus500, which has seen its revenue take a hit in recent weeks after it suspended some of its UK accounts as part of actions on its anti-money laundering processes.
Shares in Plus500 closed at 370 pence on Friday, having dropped by nearly 50% over the course of May owing to the concerns about the account suspensions.
FTSE 250-listed Playtech said that since the acquisition of TradeFX, an online contracts-for-difference and binary options broker and trading platform provider, it is pursuing a strategy of aggregating businesses within this sector and said Plus500 is a natural fit for this strategy.
Playtech said the acquisition will be immediately earnings accretive and said it expects the deal to close by the end of September.
"Having recently completed the acquisition of TradeFX, the opportunity to acquire Plus500 will prove transformational for our ambitions to expand Playtech's wider offering. As an immediately earnings enhancing acquisition, the combination of the two businesses is compelling, enabling us to apply our market-leading products and services to the enlarged financial trading business as we continue to execute our growth strategy for the group," said Playtech Chief Executive Mor Weizer.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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