Playtech shares plunge after Eddie Jordan drops interest and Aristocrat bid hangs in balance

Playtech shares crashed today as the online gambling software firm’s multibillion pound takeover looked in doubt.

One interested party ruled has itself out, while Playtech admitted it is unsure if the remaining £2.7 billion bid will win investor approval.

A consortium led by Formula One tycoon Eddie Jordan that was circling Playtech today said it won’t make an offer. Jordan said his team had “worked tirelessly to assemble a bid that would create value” but was dropping out of the race.

That leaves Australian gambling group Aristocrat, which tabled a £2.7 billion bid last October. However, Playtech admitted today it does not have “a clear understanding” of whether all shareholders are supportive of the deal.

A “number of material investors” who bought into the firm at a share price higher than the Aristocrat bid have not engaged with Playtech’s management. That has raised fears that these investors, facing a loss, will reject the offer.

In a statement, Aristocrat urged all shareholder to back the deal and said its bid was “the only firm offer available to Playtech shareholders, despite the substantial amount of time provided to potential bidders to make alternative proposals”.

Playtech’s share price has surged more than 70% since Aristocrat first made its 680p-a-share approach as traders bet on a takeover battle.

Today the stock lost 111.5p — a drop of 15.2% — to reach 619p.

Shareholders will vote on the takeover at a meeting on February 2. Playtech’s board are still backing the Aristocrat bid.

Jordan said he was still looking to strike a deal in the gaming sector despite dropping his pursuit of Playtech. He said: “We continue to evaluate a number of opportunities in the gaming and associated technology sectors, where we see exciting growth prospects in a number of international markets.”