Es wird keine Traumhochzeit zwischen William Hill und Amaya geben. Der britische Buchmacher und die Mutterfirma von PokerStars haben die Verhandlungen beendet. Einer der Gründe war die harsche Kritik seitens der William Hill-Investoren.
Wie mehrere Nachrichtendienste berichten, wird es keine große Fusion geben. Bloomberg gibt an, dass William Hill die Verhandlungen beendet hat. Grund hierfür soll der öffentliche Brief von Parvus Asset Management sein. Der Hauptanteilseigner kritisierte eine mögliche Fusion und beschrieb Amaya als überbewertete Aktiva.
Laut Reuters wurden die Verhandlungen von beiden Seiten beendet. Amaya veröffentlichte in diesem Zusammenhang ein Presseschreiben und gab bekannt, dass man als „unabhängige öffentlich gehandelte Firma“ eine bessere Ausgangslage hat. Damit scheint wohl auch ein möglicher Deal mit GVC vom Tisch zu sein.
Hier das Presseschreiben im Original: „Amaya Inc. (NASDAQ: AYA; TSX: AYA) today said that the Special Committee of independent directors of Amaya’s Board has announced the completion of its strategic alternatives review. Following an extensive review, upon the unanimous recommendation of the Special Committee, the Board concluded that at this time remaining as an independent publicly-traded corporation best positions Amaya to deliver long-term shareholder value.
In response to press speculation, Amaya and William Hill PLC (LSE: WHM) recently announced they were in discussions regarding a potential all share merger of equals. Those discussions have concluded, and Amaya and William Hill have determined that they will no longer pursue the merger. Amaya wishes the best for William Hill and its shareholders.
“Amaya is a strong and growing company with experienced management and a proven strategy to deliver profitable growth and shareholder value,” said Divyesh (Dave) Gadhia, Chairman of Amaya. “Together with our financial advisors, we evaluated a wide range of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value and have concluded that remaining an independent company is in the best interest of Amaya’s shareholders at this time. The Board has full faith in Amaya’s management to execute on its strategy and objectives.”
Amaya plans to announce preliminary results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2016 and provide full year guidance for 2016 later today prior to the opening of the Toronto Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. For clarifications of certain inaccuracies contained in an open letter from a William Hill shareholder to William Hill’s board of directors, please visit Amaya’s website at www.amaya.com.
Amaya has been informed by its former Chief Executive Officer, David Baazov, that he continues to be interested in acquiring all of the outstanding shares of Amaya. The Special Committee has not received an offer from Mr. Baazov that it or its advisors believes is capable of resulting in a completed transaction. Accordingly, while the Board will consider any bona fide offer that Mr. Baazov or any other party may make, Amaya’s review of strategic alternatives has concluded.“
