Playtech Raises More Cash For Acquisitions

Published: Wednesday, June 18, 2008 Online-Casinos.com

PLAYTECH RAISES MORE CASH FOR ACQUISITIONS

GBP 112 raised in 21.6 million ordinary share placing


Online gambling software developer and London-listed firm Playtech plc raised an impressive GBP 112 million for new acquisitions this week through the successful completion of a placing in which a total of 21 620 946 new ordinary shares of nil par value each were placed with institutions at a price of 520p per Placing Share. The placing was underwritten by Collins Stewart.

The exercise involved approximately 9.9 percent of the company's issued share capital immediately prior to the Placing

The Placing Shares will, when issued, be credited as fully paid and will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing ordinary shares of Playtech Limited, including the right to receive all dividends and other distributions declared, made or paid after the date of issue.

Application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for the Placing Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM. Subject to Admission, it is expected that dealings in the Placing Shares will commence on 23 June 2008.

With the offering, Playtech looked to take advantage of the rise in its share price. The firm's market cap is up 40 percent since January, and is more than double its IPO value in the spring of 2006.

Playtech CEO Mor Weizer commented, "Playtech made strong progress in 2007 with all key performance indicators exceeding targets. This progress has continued into 2008 with the company registering impressive month on month revenue growth. This performance has put the group in an ideal position to continue its growth strategy both organically and by acquisition. We have demonstrated our ability to leverage acquisitions and believe this placing will provide the group with an extremely strong balance sheet that will allow it to take advantage of further opportunities that the current market offers."

Playtech already has $86.5 million in cash available for acquisitions, not including today's placement or $34.8 million in short-term investments.

The company added nine new licensees in 2008 and launched two licensees at the end of the first quarter. The new licensees include Betsson, one of the largest publicly traded online gambling operators serving the European market and Vista Global Limited, the group behind the celebrity-endorsed Hollywood Poker brand. This brings Playtech's total number of licensees to 59.