Playtech - Sold Too Soon?
Published: Wednesday, February 22, 2006 Online-Casinos.com
PLAYTECH - SOLD TOO SOON?
Heartsore investors over Playtech potential
There are likely to be some heartsore investors in the wake of software developer Playtech’s recent announcement that it intends to go public in a London IPO that will likely generate millions for its principal shareholder, Teddy Sagi, reports the Israeli business newspaper Globes.
The report reveals that Israeli companies Gibor Sport, Leader Investments, and Resido sold their stakes in Playtech’s parent company, NAV New Age Investments, for only a few million shekels losing out on a current opportunity that could rake in millions.
The report goes on to name the major Israeli shareholders in these companies, commenting that they will see little if any reward from the forthcoming IPO, but could have made huge profits from their holdings in Playtech had they believed in the company’s future.
Eitan Eldar and Roi Gil of Gibor Sports, Itschak Shrem, Yair Fudim and Avigdor Kelner of the company bearing their names and Freddi Robinson of Resido all invested in Sagi’s NAV in 2000 but sold heir holdings in 2001-2002 for relatively low profits.
Eldar and Gil sold their 11.5 percent of NAV to Sagi for 8.5 million Israeli shekels. At today’s potential that would be worth an estimated $60 million, giving a hypothetical loss to the two of some 300 million Israeli shekels.
Globes reports that three months after Gil and Eldar sold their NAV stakes, Freddi Robinson followed suit. He sold his 5 percent stake in the company to Sagi for 3.9 million shekels. Robinson held the shares through Resido, which would have indirectly owned Playtech shares worth $30 million, giving a theoretical loss of 130 million shekels.
Shrem, Fudim, and Kelner were the last to sell their 3-4 percent stake in NAV, again to Sagi for 2.3 million shekels, and would have indirectly owned Playtech shares worth $20 million today. The theoretical loss is 90 million shekels.
Globes speculates that the Playtech IPO has the potential to make Teddy Sagi one of Israel’s richest men. Sagi’s NAV New Age Investments Ltd. Controls a 68 percent stake in Playtech, according to a 2002 valuation. When the company goes public on the London Stock Exchange next month at a value of $800-900 million, Sagi will reportedly make $90-120 million from the issue, still retaining shares worth $370-400 million.
