David Baazov Drops $4.1 Billion Takeover Bid For PokerStars' Parent CompanyCompany Founder Says Price Was Too High |
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The founder of Amaya Gaming, parent company of the world’s largest poker site, will no longer pursue a $4.1 billion deal to take the company private, according to an announcement made Tuesday.
David Baazov, who is still facing insider trading charges in Canada, owns about 17 percent of Amaya. He said that cost was the reason for dropping the proposal to purchase the company.
“The decision to terminate my attempted acquisition of Amaya was not an easy one,” Baazov said. “I retained a full suite of advisors, arranged committed financing, and engaged in constructive negotiations with Amaya’s board of directors. I submitted an unconditional, fully financed offer of $24 per share, higher than my original announced intention to submit a $21 per share offer. However, during the discussions it became evident that the share price premium demanded by certain shareholders exceeded the price at which my investors and I would be willing to complete a transaction.”
According to a report from Bloomberg, Amaya’s market as of Tuesday was $2 billion. If you factor in debt, Baazov’s offer reportedly was worth about $6.7 billion.
Baazov was CEO of Amaya before stepping down thanks to the insider trading allegations. Baazov pleaded not guilty to the charges stemming from the alleged use of privileged information when trading company shares between December 2013 and the June 2014 deal to acquire PokerStars for $4.9 billion.
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