Playtech, the Israeli gaming company founded by Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi, has sold for $3.7 billion to Australian gambling machine manufacturer Aristocrat Leisure. There is no word yet, however, as to how much, if any, of the stock sold was owned by Sagi personally.
This is good news for someone who the Iranians tried to kill just last month. A few weeks ago the Israeli government revealed that an attempt to assassinate Israeli businessmen, including Teddy Sagi, in Cyprus was foiled in September. The Israeli government says that it has proof that the Iranian government was behind the plot.
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The Prime Minister himself released a statement saying, “As opposed to some of the reports yesterday regarding an incident in Cyprus, I can clarify on behalf of the security establishment, that this was an act of terror that was orchestrated by Iran against Israeli businesspeople living in Cyprus.”
Founded in 1999 by Israeli-Cypriot billionaire Teddy Sagi, Playtech is developing technology for a range of casinos and sports betting products.
Playtech is currently traded on the London Stock Exchange. Its stock was sold to Aristocrat for 680 pence ($9.35) per share, about 58% above the company’s last closing price.
Aristocrat Leisure said that it would sell $975 million of its own stock to help fund the acquisition of Playtech.
“The combined group would offer a broad portfolio of end-to-end solutions for gaming customers around the world, as well as seamless player experiences, underpinned by a shared focus on responsible gameplay and innovation,” Aristocrat Chief Executive Officer Trevor Croker said.
According to Forbes, Sagi is worth $5.6 billion. Teddy Sagi made a fortune after he founded the Israeli gambling software developer Playtech in 1999. After turning it into a $700 million company traded on London’s stock exchange, Sagi sold 12% of Playtech for almost $400 million in 2016. He later sold the rest of the company for $88 million at the end of 2018.
