Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi’s Playtech PLC, said Monday its planned 459.6 million pound ($697.9 million) acquisition of Plus500 Ltd. has been terminated as a result of regulatory concerns in the UK.
The company had agreed to buy Plus500 in June to expand its online trading platform.
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The decision was made over the weekend by the online gambling technology company, Playtech’s board, after an update from the regulator (FCA) on Friday, the company said in a statement Monday. Playtech said that following the update from the FCA, it was of the view that the steps being proposed to address certain concerns would not sufficiently satisfy the regulator to enable it to obtain approval by Dec. 31.
Plus500, which operates an online trading platform, is planning for an independent future, the company said in a separate statement.
The move comes more than a month after Playtech said it would challenge the Irish central bank’s (CBI) decision to oppose its $105 million deal for currency trading platform Ava Trade Ltd. But it did not say what the issues were.
Shares in Playtech, fell as much as 12.3 percent in early trading, while those of Plus500 sank as much as 22 percent.
Playtech had announced four acquisitions since the beginning of the year worth about $1.3 billion.
