FINALTO-S.P.V.-LTD
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
Syngenta to Address Global Agricultural Challenges at WEF, Championing AI to Empower Farmers and Create Open Technology Access19.1.2026 08:00:00 CET | Press release
AI and digital tools are unlocking unprecedented opportunities to strengthen farms and secure food security. New IPSOS study reveals technology adoption gap, underscoring urgent need for equitable technology access. Syngenta champions "Agricultural Intelligence" at World Economic Forum, showcasing Cropwise AI solutions that put cutting-edge tools in the hands of all farmers, especially smallholders. As farmers globally grapple with unprecedented economic, geopolitical, and environmental pressures; the agricultural sector faces a continued contraction. An alarming decrease in active farms worldwide and rising financial distress underscore the urgent need for innovation and technology to ensure a resilient food system. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260118646017/en/ Jeff Rowe, Syngenta Group CEO "Farmers today are navigating one of the most complex periods in modern agriculture, facing pressures that demand urg
KPMG Enters Strategic Relationship With Uniphore to Build AI Agents Powered by Industry-Specific Small Language Models19.1.2026 07:00:00 CET | Press release
Collaboration uses KPMG’s knowledge in small language models to accelerate delivery of business outcomes to clients across banking, insurance, energy and healthcare Uniphore, the Business AI company, today announced a strategic relationship with KPMG LLP to operationalize AI agents across internal and client-facing workflows, supporting the firm’s continued effort to move from experimental AI pilots to production-grade deployment. As part of the collaboration, KPMG will work with Uniphore to build AI agents using Uniphore’s Business AI Cloud as a platform for agentic AI and fine-tuned small language models (SLMs), supporting clients across regulated industries including banking, insurance, energy and healthcare. Built on a sovereign, composable, and secure architecture, the platform integrates with KPMG’s existing enterprise systems and data environments, meeting governance and compliance requirements essential to regulated industries. This initiative reflects KPMG’s broader effort to
International Chamber of Commerce, Carbon Measures Announce First Group of Global Experts for Carbon Accounting Panel19.1.2026 06:00:00 CET | Press release
Panelists include senior global leaders from business, academia, and civil society. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and Carbon Measures today announced the first cohort of experts selected to serve on the Technical Expert Panel on Carbon Accounting, which will define the principles, scope and real-world applications of a carbon emissions accounting system. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260118104674/en/ The panelists are distinguished leaders and experts across industry, science, civil society, and academia – representing diverse disciplines, geographies, and professional backgrounds. The panel will apply their experience across sustainability, technology, public policy, and industrial and financial systems to establish a timely, accurate and verifiable ledger-based carbon emissions accounting system. This system will track product-level emissions across the value chain and support real-world deci
AI-Powered Creator Monetisation Platform, Fanvue, Hits $100m Run Rate and Raises $22m Series A Investment - as Leading Global Creators Rush to Join the Platform19.1.2026 01:01:00 CET | Press release
Fanvue, the AI-powered creator monetisation platform with a $100m-plus run rate, has announced a $22m Series A investment round. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260112458975/en/ Joel Morris, Will Monange and Harry Fitzgerald (left to right) Fanvue has bet big on AI-powered tools changing the face of an industry estimated to be worth over $500B by 2030. The platform, which recently crossed $100m annualised revenue, has over 17 million monthly active users, and is home to 250,000 creators who are using Fanvue’s pioneering AI tools to scale their businesses and earn. Instead of competing with legacy platforms, Fanvue is defining a new category, the Creator AI Economy. Fanvue’s belief is that the next generation of creators will accelerate their earnings through utilising technology. And it’s happening in real time. According to Fanvue, just over 93% of creators on the platform used at least one of the platform’s
Andersen Consulting udvider sit udbud af humankapital med tilføjelsen af Jakarta Consulting Group16.1.2026 21:09:00 CET | Pressemeddelelse
Andersen Consulting styrker sine kompetencer gennem en samarbejdsaftale med Jakarta Consulting Group (JCG), der er et rådgivningsfirma, som er kendt for sin ekspertise inden for organisatorisk transformation, humankapitalstrategi og ledelsesudvikling. Med hovedsæde i Indonesien har JCG rådgivet virksomheder inden for brancher som ejendom, minedrift og produktion gennem strategisk og kulturel transformation. Med kerneydelser, der omfatter virksomheds- og administrationsrådgivning, hr-rådgivning, vurdering samt virksomheds- og ledelsestræning, er virksomheden kendt for sin evne til at transformere virksomheder og ledere med agilitet, kulturel intelligens og handlingsorienterede løsninger. "Vi har altid ment, at bæredygtig transformation begynder med mennesker – når ledere udvikler sig, følger organisationer med," siger Patricia Susanto, CEO for Jakarta Consulting Group. "Ved at kombinere Andersen Consultings globale perspektiv med vores regionale indsigt kan vi tilbyde kunderne mere helh
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
