FINALTO-S.P.V.-LTD
2.8.2021 19:43:08 CEST | Business Wire | Press release
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
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210802005628/en/
About Business Wire
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
BeOne Presents Compelling Data in Hard-to-Treat Liver and Lung Cancers at ESMO 202624.10.2026 10:15:00 CEST | Press release
Potential first-in-class GPC3 x 4-1BB bispecific achieves a 36% confirmed response rate at Phase 3 dose and favorable safety profile in heavily pretreated liver cancerBrain-penetrant PRMT5 inhibitor shows promising antitumor and CNS activity in the largest publicly shared MTAP-deficient datasetFirst clinical data of CEA-targeting ADC demonstrates encouraging and sustained responses in CEAhigh NSCLC BeOne Medicines Ltd. (Nasdaq: ONC; HKEX: 06160; SSE: 688235), a global oncology company, today announced new data from multiple differentiated investigational medicines across its priority solid tumor disease areas at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2026 (October 23–27, Madrid). The presentations span gastrointestinal, lung, and breast cancers, and reflect the growing momentum of BeOne’s solid tumor franchise. Mark Lanasa, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer, Solid Tumors at BeOne, said: “At ESMO, we are showing how our strategy of matching the right modality to dise
Phase 3 RAINIER Results Supporting Best-in-Class Potential of Povetacicept in IgA Nephropathy Published in the New England Journal of Medicine and Presented at the American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week 202623.10.2026 19:42:00 CEST | Press release
- Vertex is on track for the U.S. FDA Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) date of November 30 for potential accelerated approval of povetacicept –- Data published in NEJM and presented at ASN highlight povetacicept’s unique trifecta of efficacy, favorable safety, and the simplicity of dosing at-home every 4 weeks with a low-volume autoinjector –- Data presented at ASN include a qualitative study examining patient perspectives on current and emerging IgAN therapies, showing that 96% of participants preferred an autoinjector over a prefilled syringe, and 80% of participants preferred dosing every 4 weeks versus weekly dosing - - New clinical studies of povetacicept underway including a study evaluating patient experience on povetacicept administered via autoinjector - Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX) today announced the publication of Phase 3 RAINIER results for povetacicept in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), presentation of these data at the American Soc
BeOne Medicines Reports Sustained Survival Benefit with TEVIMBRA-ZIIHERA Combination in First-Line HER2+ Gastroesophageal Cancer23.10.2026 16:15:00 CEST | Press release
New data from HERIZON-GEA-01 Phase 3 trial show 36-month overall survival of nearly 40% with TEVIMBRA plus ZIIHERA and chemotherapy, and median OS reaching 27 monthsTEVIMBRA-containing arm was associated with a four-month longer median OS compared with ZIIHERA plus chemotherapy BeOne Medicines Ltd. (Nasdaq: ONC; HKEX: 06160; SSE: 688235), a global oncology company, today announced new survival results from the planned second interim analysis (IA2) and final formal analysis of the Phase 3 HERIZON-GEA-01 trial, further confirming the benefit of TEVIMBRA® (tislelizumab) plus ZIIHERA® (zanidatamab) and chemotherapy as first-line treatment for patients with HER2-positive locally advanced or metastatic gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (GEA). The results will be presented today as a late-breaking abstract during a rapid oral session at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2026 in Madrid, Spain (LBA79). Mark Lanasa, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer, Solid Tumors at BeOne,
Lifezone Metals Confirms Advanced Negotiations with Orion CMC on Kabanga Nickel Project23.10.2026 16:10:00 CEST | Press release
Lifezone Metals Limited (NYSE: LZM) notes comments made today by Oskar Lewnowski, Founder and Group Chief Executive of Orion Resource Partners, in an interview with Bloomberg Television regarding the Company’s Kabanga Nickel Project in Tanzania. In response to inbound inquiries from media outlets and investors following the interview, the Company can confirm that negotiations with Orion Critical Mineral Consortium (Orion CMC) regarding a significant equity investment into the Kabanga Nickel Project are at an advanced stage. The Orion CMC is a global investment platform launched by Orion Resource Partners in partnership with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Abu Dhabi's sovereign investor ADQ. As previously announced, the Company has been running a competitive process, led by Standard Chartered Bank, to secure a strategic investment into the Kabanga Nickel Project. Social Media LinkedIn | X | YouTube About Lifezone Metals Lifezone Metals (NYSE: LZM) is com
inDrive and Pony.ai Announce Collaboration to Explore Autonomous Mobility in Kazakhstan Built on NVIDIA Hyperion23.10.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release
Collaboration will establish the roadmap for bringing Pony.ai robotaxis to Kazakhstan on the inDrive ride-hailing platform, leveraging the NVIDIA Hyperion and the NVIDIA Halos safety system. inDrive, the global mobility and delivery platform, today announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with NVIDIA and Pony.ai, a global leader in the large-scale commercialization of autonomous driving technology, to explore the future of autonomous ride-hailing. Kazakhstan will serve as the first test market. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261023143469/en/ inDrive partners with Pony.ai and NVIDIA to explore autonomous mobility in Kazakhstan Kazakhstan was chosen first for its regulatory readiness following the creation of the country’s first structured legal framework for driverless transport, as part of its “Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence.” Combined with Kazakhstan’s position as a lea
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
