Business Wire

FINALTO-S.P.V.-LTD

2.8.2021 19:43:08 CEST | Business Wire | Press release

Share
The Consortium Welcomes Playtech’s Confirmed Recommendation for Its Binding Agreement to Acquire Finalto and Urges Investors to Vote in Favour at the Playtech Adjourned General Meeting on 18 August 2021

Finalto S.P.V. Ltd, the consortium led by Barinboim Group and backed by Leumi Partners Limited and Menora Mivtachim Group, together with key members of the Finalto Business' management team (together the "Consortium"), welcomes the announcement by Playtech plc (“Playtech”) confirming its recommendation that shareholders vote in favour of the Consortium’s binding agreement for Finalto Group (“Finalto) (the “Binding Agreement”).

Playtech announced today that following its engagement with Gopher Investments (“Gopher”) over the past three weeks, it has not received responses from Gopher to a number of its questions and therefore Playtech has not yet been able to achieve the necessary clarity on Gopher's ultimate ownership and funding structure, source of funds or ability to obtain the required regulatory clearances .

Shareholders should ask why Gopher continues to hide and should also be suspicious of Gopher’s credibility, particularly given that disclosure is crucial when buying a highly regulated business. Furthermore, the firm associated with Gopher, TT Bond Partners, is a small boutique brokerage that raises money from Chinese investors. Gopher’s behaviour has not been well received by the market; since it first announced its interest, Playtech’s share price has fallen by nearly 17%1 .

The Consortium’s Binding Agreement for Finalto offers considerable value and certainty and puts an end to the arduous 18-month sale process

  • Voting in favour of the Consortium’s Binding Agreement, which has been unanimously supported by Playtech’s board of directors, ensures Playtech receipt of the considerable sale proceeds soon allowing it to focus on its core gambling business. The Binding Agreement was agreed after beating other rival bidders in a lengthy, arduous and transparent sale process that was run by UBS and offers far greater certainty that the transaction will complete and pass the stringent regulatory approvals.
  • The level of volatility and risk that the Finalto business is subject to and the performance headwinds that it faces, led to the ultimate price that was agreed and Playtech recommending the Consortium’s Binding Agreement to acquire Finalto. Indeed, in the original circular to shareholders, Playtech itself comments on Finalto’s tumultuous performance in 2021, underlining the businesses underperformance relative to prior years.
  • If shareholders vote against the Binding Agreement the Consortium will fall apart. Should this happen, shareholders need to reflect on the likelihood that Gopher would follow through on its indicative interest at the level they purport to offer for Finalto.
  • Voting in favour of the Consortium removes the considerable risk, delay and additional costs associated with yet another sale process, which would not be concluded until late 2022 at the earliest. Such a delay would be considerably destabilising to the Finalto business, which has already been subject to a lengthy sale process and significant market speculation.
  • From the outset of the transaction, the Consortium’s Binding Agreement was and remains fully financed by the three blue chip multinationals comprising the Consortium and a reputable senior lender. Completion is subject to Playtech’s shareholders’ approval and final regulatory approvals only, which the Consortium is already six months into and has submitted the required arduous change of control paperwork to each of the regulators in multiple jurisdictions.
  • The Consortium welcomes shareholders and proxy advisors ISS and Glass Lewis to engage with it in order to answer any questions regarding its Binding Agreement, which it believe provides the best value to Playtech.

The Consortium urges shareholders to follow Playtech’s Board recommendation and vote in favour of its Binding Agreement to acquire Finalto at the General Meeting due to take place on 18 August 2021.

The Original Circular, the Supplementary Circular and the Notice of Adjourned General Meeting are available on Playtech's website at www.investors.playtech.com/shareholder-information/general-meeting.aspx . Shareholders who have already submitted their proxy electronically at www.investorcentre.co.uk/eproxy and wish to change their voting instruction, may do so by submitting a revised Form of Proxy electronically at www.investorcentre.co.uk/eproxy .

The Consortium’s previous announcements are available here (7 July 2021) and here (9 July 2021).

-ENDS-

About the Consortium

The Consortium is a company incorporated in Israel, established for the purpose of acquiring the Finalto Business. The Consortium is being funded by a group consisting of Barinboim Group, Leumi Partners Limited and Menora Mivtachim Group and by senior secured debt financing from The Phoenix Insurance Company Limited and certain of its affiliates. The Consortium will be supported by key members of the Finalto Business' management team that will transfer with the Finalto Business, including Ron Hoffman (Chief Executive Officer of the Finalto Business) and Liron Greenbaum (Chief Operations Officer of the Finalto Business).

Barinboim Group is a private equity and venture capital firm based in Tel Aviv. Barinboim Group invests in companies operating in the media sectors.

Leumi Partners Limited is the merchant and investment banking arm of Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI), one of the two largest banking groups in Israel. Leumi Partners Limited is based in Tel Aviv and offers direct equity investment in sectors such as technology media and telecom, consumer & retail, and healthcare. Leumi Partners Limited's line of business includes conducting investments and providing services such as underwriting, financial analysis and research, strategic advice, mergers & acquisitions, and raising equity and debt.

Menora Mivtachim Group is one of Israel's five largest insurance & finance groups. The group specializes in asset management, manages the largest pension fund in Israel - and is the largest General Insurer in Israel and the market leader in Motor Insurance sector. The group operates through its subsidiaries, in all sectors of Life Insurance, Long/Mid/Short -Term Savings, General Insurance and Health Insurance. In addition, the group is active in the capital markets and finance sectors, including, Financial Portfolio Management, Underwriting and worldwide real estate investments.


1 Source: Capital IQ. July 30 close price over July 2 close price

About Business Wire

Business Wire
Business Wire
101 California Street, 20th Floor
CA 94111 San Francisco

http://businesswire.com

Subscribe to releases from Business Wire

Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Latest releases from Business Wire

2026 NAB Show Opens Tomorrow, Uniting Global Media Leaders to Shape the Future of Storytelling18.4.2026 04:08:00 CEST | Press release

CEO of Zhong, one of YouTube’s most-watched creators with 70 million subscribers and 95 million followers on all platforms, joins program The 2026 NAB Show kicks off Saturday, April 18, with the show floor and exhibits opening on April 19, highlighting the most innovative companies and bringing together the world’s most influential voices across media, entertainment and technology for the industry’s premier global event. As the only platform that convenes broadcasters, media companies, content creators and technology innovators at scale, NAB Show continues its century-long legacy as the catalyst for innovation, growth and deal-making in a rapidly evolving, multi-platform world. From artificial intelligence and the creator economy to sports, streaming and cloud transformation, NAB Show is where the tools, talent and ideas driving the future of storytelling converge. “NAB Show is where the global media ecosystem comes together not just to explore what’s next—but to build it,” said Karen

Philip Morris International Announces U.S. FDA Reauthorization of IQOS as a Modified Risk Tobacco Product17.4.2026 23:43:00 CEST | Press release

A pioneer in smoke-free tobacco products, Philip Morris International is the only company that has received modified risk tobacco product authorizations for heated tobacco products.In their order, FDA concluded that: “Scientific studies have shown that switching completely from conventional cigarettes to the IQOS system significantly reduces your body’s exposure to harmful or potentially harmful chemicals” The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it has authorized the renewal of modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) orders previously granted to PMI for two versions of the IQOS device and three variants of the tobacco consumables, commercialized under the HEETS brand. This renewal allows PMI to continue sharing reduced-exposure information with U.S. adults 21+ who use traditional tobacco products, such as combustible cigarettes. The agency concluded that renewing the IQOS and HEETS MRTP authorizations is appropriate to promote public health and is expected to benefit th

Canva Announces Anthropic Collaboration to Bring AI-Powered Design to Millions17.4.2026 17:51:00 CEST | Press release

New collaboration brings Canva into Claude Design by Anthropic, turning AI-generated ideas into fully editable, on-brand designs Canva, the world’s leading all-in-one visual communication platform, today announced the next chapter in its two-year strategic collaboration with Anthropic, bringing Canva directly into the newly launched Claude Design by Anthropic Labs, one day after unveiling Canva AI 2.0 to a crowd of 6,500 people at Canva Create in Los Angeles.. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260410843169/en/ Canva and Claude Canva is also today introducing HTML importing, a new capability that makes it easy to bring interactive content generated in tools like Claude into the Canva editor for drag-and-drop collaboration, refinement, and publishing. The collaboration makes it easier for Claude Design users to turn AI-generated drafts and ideas into fully editable designs in Canva, where they become collaborative

Andersen Consulting tilføjer samarbejdsfirmaet Nuvolar17.4.2026 15:43:00 CEST | Pressemeddelelse

Andersen Consulting udvider sin platform for digitale transformation gennem en samarbejdsaftale med Nuvolar, et teknologikonsulenthus med speciale i cloudbaseret softwareudvikling og avancerede Salesforce-implementeringer. Nuvolar, der blev stiftet i 2008 og har hovedsæde i Spanien, leverer end-to-end digital produktudvikling med dyb ekspertise inden for Salesforce, specialudviklede web- og mobilapplikationer, full-stack udvikling, UX/UI-design, produktledelse og langsigtede supporttjenester. Med mere end 110 fagfolk fordelt over Barcelona, Madrid, Miami og Mexico City arbejder virksomheden med kunder inden for luftfart, sundhedsvæsen, forbrugsgoder, medicinalindustrien samt hotel- og restaurationsbranchen for at designe og implementere skalerbare, forretningskritiske platforme, der optimerer driften og fremskynder den digitale transformation. "Samarbejdet med Andersen Consulting giver os mulighed for at levere vores ekspertise i en større skala," udtalte Marc Vivas, administrerende di

Qualcomm Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend17.4.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) today announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.92 per common share, payable on June 25, 2026, to stockholders of record at the close of business on June 4, 2026. About Qualcomm Qualcomm relentlessly innovates to deliver intelligent computing everywhere, helping the world tackle some of its most important challenges. Building on our 40 years of technology leadership in creating era-defining breakthroughs, we deliver a broad portfolio of solutions built with our leading-edge AI, high-performance, low-power computing, and unrivaled connectivity. Our Snapdragon® platforms power extraordinary consumer experiences, and our Qualcomm Dragonwing™ products empower businesses and industries to scale to new heights. Together with our ecosystem partners, we enable next-generation digital transformation to enrich lives, improve businesses, and advance societies. At Qualcomm, we are engineering human progress. Qualcomm Incorporated includes our licensing business

In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.

Visit our pressroom
World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye