Plus500 shareholders approve Playtech takeover
Acquisition moves one step closer as 93% of votes cast at today's special general meeting back £460m deal
Playtech’s proposed acquisition of Plus500 inched closer today after shareholders of the CFD trading company voted emphatically in favour of the £460m deal.
At a special general meeting held in London this morning, an overwhelming majority of 93.4% of votes cast backed the takeover. Total turnout was 71.8%, meaning 67% of Plus500’s total voting power had favoured the bid.
The result proved enough to satisfy two threshold requirements; a majority of the voting power of Plus500 as well as the majority of votes cast by shareholders not affiliated to or holding less than 25% of Playtech’s share capital.
Plus500 said completion of the acquisition remained subject to satisfying a number of conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals and anti-trust clearance and the approval of Playtech’s shareholders, however it expected these conditions to be met by the end of September.
Playtech CEO Mor Weizer said he was “delighted” to have secured the support of the Plus500 shareholders and looked forward to combining the business with its other recently acquired trading platform Trade FX.
“The combination of TradeFX and Plus500 will enable 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,” Weizer said.
Playtech’s activity in the financial trading sector has seen it set up a new financials division which is being headed-up by Playtech CFO Ron Hoffman.
The agreement to buy the AIM-listed Plus500 for 400p per share came hot on the heels of Playtech’s £333m deal to acquire a majority stake in foreign exchange and currency brokerage firm TradeFX.
And earlier this month Playtech strengthened its financials portfolio after striking an agreement to acquire CFD broker Ava Trade for £67m, exercising an option held by Trade FX.