THE PLAYTECH takeover saga took yet another turn yesterday as shares rose on rumours of a new bid from an affiliate of former suitor Gopher.

Gambling technology company Playtech confirmed yesterday that TTB, an affiliate of former suitor Gopher Investments which dropped out of the contest in November, had requested for restrictions preventing it from making an offer to be lifted.

It comes after a dramatic shareholder meeting on Wednesday which saw a host of Asian investors vote down a £2.7bn offer from Australian gambling giant Aristocrat, despite a favourable recommendation by the board.

Aristocrat first made an offer for Playtech in October, propelling the company's share price to heights of 680p and kicking off a takeover battle.

Playtech chair Brian Mattingley, formerly of 888, said after the knockback that he was glad the process had "highlighted the fact that the company is valuable."

Markets appeared to agree with shares up 8.5 per cent yesterday on the working assumption that more bids would come in sooner rather than later.

Trevor Croker, chief executive of Aristocrat, said he was "disappointed" the offer was rebuffed.

He said developments had been "highly unusual and "largely beyond Aristocrat's control," blaming a "certain group of shareholders who built a blocking stake" for the collapse.

Multiple companies have made a bid for Playtech including Gopher Investments and JKO Play, a consortium of investors which included former F1 boss Eddie Jordan, which reportedly planned to offer more than £3bn before dropping out of the race.

TTB affiliate Gopher Investments is still in the process of agreeing a $250m deal to buy Playtech's financial trading division, Finalto, which is expected to close in the second half of 2022.

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