Playtech is in exclusive discussions with a group of renowned Israeli investment companies about a possible sale of its financial trading division, Finalto.
The group has offered a bid of up to $200 million (£146.1 million/€164.6 million) in cash for Finalto, previously known as TradeTech Group. After the completion of any agreement, $170 million will be paid.
Upon finalization of the deal, an extra $110 million in funds necessary for running the business will be transferred to the new owners.
The group is supported by several notable Israeli investors. These include private equity firm, the Barington Group; commercial and investment banking firm, Leumi Partners; and insurance giants, Phoenix Holdings and Menora Mivtachim Insurance.
Finalto provides B2B and B2C trading solutions, including contracts for difference (CFDs) and forex trading portal, Markets.com.
The future of the division has been a subject of discussion since November 2019 when Playtech declared it would examine all possibilities, including selling the division.
The company then revealed in August of last year that it was in talks with several companies regarding a potential sale.
Playtech declared that Finalto’s performance experienced a significant boost in the initial six months of the year. They attributed this uptick to the volatile market conditions and increased trading activity spurred by the global health crisis.
However, Finalto’s fortunes took a turn for the worse in the latter half of the year following a period of market stabilization.
Playtech stated that they remain uncertain about the ultimate outcome of the potential sale of Finalto, despite ongoing discussions with prospective buyers.
Playtech is actively pursuing a strategy of streamlining its operations and divesting non-core assets. They previously offloaded their entire portfolio of casual and social games, including YoYo Games, to a Norwegian firm, Opera, for a sum of $10 million in January. This transaction has been finalized.