On Friday, Gopher Investments, the company’s No. 2 stakeholder, pulled away from a prospective three-way takeover battle for Playtech (PTEC.L), saying it was committed to a separate transaction to buy a section of the company.
By 1233 GMT, Playtech’s shares had dropped 5% to 7.3 pounds, giving up all of the gains achieved in the previous session after the business announced it had received a takeover offer from JKO, a group led by former Formula One CEO Eddie Jordan.
Gopher said the plan to buy Playtech’s financial trading section, Finalto, for $250 million was still in the works and scheduled to finalize in the second half of next year.
Gopher, which owns 4.97 percent of Playtech, has previously thwarted a deal between Playtech and a consortium formed by Israeli private equity firm Barinboim to sell the subsidiary.
Playtech founded at the turn of the millennium and today the world’s largest online gaming software supplier declined to comment on the Gopher announcement on Friday.
Playtech’s board has recommended a 2.1 billion pound offer from Australia’s Aristocrat Leisure (ALL.AX) for its overall business to shareholders.
