THE CONTEST to snap up Playtech has taken a fresh turn with shareholders voting to slap down a takeover bid by Aristocrat.

In a meeting held yesterday, gambling technology company Playtech failed to achieve the 75 per cent of investor support necessary to push ahead with the sale. In total just 56 per cent of investors voted in favour of the £2.7bn sale to the Australian gambling company.

Commenting on the collapse of the takeover deal, Mor Weizer, chief executive of Playtech, said the company remains "in a strong position" with multiple offers signalling "the quality of our technology and products."

The news came on the same day that Sky News reported TT Bond Partners had weighed in a fresh bid for the group, having been granted release from restrictions which prevented it from tabling a second offer.

Aristocrat first made its audacious, multi-billion dollar offer in October last year, driving up the company's share price to new heights of 680p and kicking off a bidding war.

Playtech courted offers from Gopher Investments and JKO play, a coalition of shareholders led by former F1 boss Eddie Jordan which was prepared to make an offer in excess of £3bn; however, Aristocrat won out as the board's first choice.

Trevor Croker, chief of snubbed suitor Aristocrat, said the company was "disappointed" its offer was rebuffed. Croker said developments had been "highly unusual and largely beyond Aristocrat's control," blaming the failure of the deal on "a certain group of shareholders who built a blocking stake."

The deal was reportedly thwarted by a group of Hong-Kong investors that bought a 28 per cent stake in Playtech.

(c) 2022 City A.M., source Newspaper