Playtech Could Be Changing Hands Soon
The last year has been nothing short of epic in terms of mergers. Evolution Gaming seems to be the major player in town, snapping up NetEnt (and thus, Red Tiger Gaming), rivals Ezugi, and most recently, Big Time Gaming. In all, they’ve spent over $2.6 billion. Just when you think that there isn’t much of the market left to acquire, along comes Aristocrat with a potential acquisition of their own.
This week, news emerged that the Australian land-based and online games provider is seeking to acquire one of the other top three developers, Playtech, potentially leaving Microgaming the last remaining major provider standing on its own two foot with private ownership.
Can Aristocrat Really Afford to Buy Playtech?
The big question is, can Aristocrat truly afford to purchase Playtech? There’s no denying Aristocrat’s reputation, but the $3.7 billion proposal put forth is eye-watering and does make some wonder where Aristocrat’s finances would come from. Many wouldn’t have thought Playtech to be worth such a colossal sum, considering NetEnt was sold for less, and they are an arguably bigger company.
According to sources, the acquisition would be funded by $814.7 million in cold hard cash, accompanied by $2 billion in loans. They would also be forced to raise $962.5 million in a bid to win over Playtech’s shareholders and convince them to accept the deal. Little details have been put forth on where the loan or the extra nine-hundred mil would come from.
What Might This Mean?
First, we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves. Playtech is a global giant and has been a household name since 1999. Secondly, Playtech is not as globally available as other providers. Like Aristocrat themselves, Playtech games only appear in selected markets. Outside the BTC betting world, Playtech’s largest market is in the UK, so there may be hurdles to jump there.
If the deal does go through, it is unlikely to mean much for the average cryptocurrency casino player. Playtech’s scope in bitcoin betting is relatively small for the time being. Of course, such a deal could always allow their footprint to grow.
BTCGOSU Will Be Following This One
For the time being, all we’re hearing are proposals and discussions. While many mergers can happen quickly (Evolution’s takeover of NetEnt was lightning quick), most multi-billion-dollar deals don’t tend to materialise overnight. If you’re interested in Aristocrat’s potential acquisition of Playtech and how it can affect you, then stick with BTCGOSU. There’s plenty of mileage in this story, and we’ll be following it whenever something more concrete is announced from either party.
Login
Register