Playtech Completes $250M Finalto Sale to Gopher Investments

Playtech (LON: PTEC) announced on Monday the completion of the all-cash sale of its financial division, Finalto (formerly TradeTech) to Hong Kong-based Gopher Investments.

The completion of the deal came ahead of the July 15 deadline, which was extended as both of the companies were initially expecting to close it by the end of the first half of 2022.

Gopher, which is a subsidiary of TTB Partners and holds a 4.97 percent stake in Playtech, paid $250 million in cash for Finalto. The offerings received the approval of Playtech’s Board last September following the shareholders’ nod in December.

The proceeds from the sale will be utilized to repay the outstanding balance of Finalto’s revolving credit facility, while the remaining will be used for general corporate purposes.

The latest confirmation of the deal completion detailed that the final consideration might be allowed to see an adjustment of up to $25 million in either direction, which will depend on the financial performance of Finalto from January 1, 2021, to date.

“On the basis of the estimated completion statement for the relevant period, the current expectation is that there will be an adjustment resulting in a lowering of the net consideration in the range of US$15 million – US$20 million,” Playtech stated.

“This adjustment remains an estimate at this stage and will be finalized post-completion in accordance with the actual completion accounts in line with the sale and purchase agreement.”

The Breakup Fee

When Finalto went up for bidding, it first received an offer from a consortium led by the Barinboim Group. However, Playtech shareholders rejected that deal, paving the way for Gopher.

Now, the completion of the Finalto sale to Gopher has also triggered the payment of $8.8 million, which needs to be paid to the Barinboim-led consortium.

“We have been impressed by the strength of Finalto’s business and management team and look forward to working closely with the team to accelerate Finalto’s ambition to become the global partner of choice in the financial trading sector,” said Teresa Teague, a Director at Gopher.