Today is obviously rich in news around Plus500 Ltd (LON:PLUS), with Teddy Sagi’s Playtech PLC (LON:PTEC) seizing the moment to acquire shares in the CFD broker at a lower price.
In a filing with the London Stock Exchange, Playtech announced it had made purchases of Plus500 shares in the open market this morning. These resulted in Playtech now having a total holding of 10,756,067 ordinary shares in Plus500.
This means the company has a 9.36% stake in the broker’s issued ordinary share capital.
The share purchase makes sense for Playtech for at least two reasons:
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The increased holding means higher chances for the proposed acquisition of Plus500 being approved at the coming meeting on July 16, 2015.
The offer of 400p per share by Playtech requires approval by a simple majority of votes (more than 50%). Given the support of Plus500’s founders and management, which hold a total of 35.6% of the voting rights, a further 9.36% stake in favor of the proposed deal will be raising the chances of its approval.
With Odey Asset Management holding a stake of more than 25% and opposing Playtech’s bid, Teddy Sagi’s group is beefing its position ahead of the decisive vote.
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Plus500’s share price was well below 400p this morning (well, it has been there since May 22, 2015). Playtech must have seen this as a good opportunity to buy shares in the broker more cheaply.
Share price in Plus500 rose this morning and are currently trading at 384p per share, up 2.4% since market opening.
Chart source: Google Finance.
To view the official announcement by Playtech on the Plus500 shares transaction, click here.