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With the publication of the company’s reports, Playtica announced that it had begun exploring strategic alternatives, including its sale. Of $ 11 billion. It ended the last trading day (Friday) at a value of $ 8.7 billion, after its stock jumped following the announcement of a possible sale.
Pleiatica, which has already been owned several times and until recently was controlled by Chinese Yujo Shi, notes that the board is considering a number of alternatives, including dealing with a strategic entity, selling some of the shares, or selling most of the company’s shares. To that end, it has appointed RAINE Investment Bank to accompany it through the process.
Only a month ago, Shai announced its intention to put up for sale a package of 15% – 25% of the company’s shares. A sale after which he will cease to be the largest shareholder in it. The Chinese entrepreneur acquired control of Playtica in 2016 at a value of $ 4.4 billion from Caesars Entertainment Group – which acquired control of Playtica in 2010 at a value of $ 160 million – so even after the decline in Playtica shares since the IPO, it is still profitable.
It seems that Politics has decided to take advantage of the momentum to maximize value. A number of huge deals have recently been signed in the field, the main one being the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft for $ 69 billion, followed by the acquisition of Destiny by Sony for $ 3.6 billion.
Playtica has released good financial reports that surpassed early forecasts, but also indicated a significant slowdown in the growth rate. Revenues totaled $ 2.58 billion, an increase of 9% over 2020. However, Playtica is a very profitable company and net profit has even increased in the past year To $ 308.5 million compared to $ 92.1 million in the same period last year, which is more than three times. Playtica currently has $ 1.1 billion in cash balances, so if it is sold, it will probably be a deal worth more than $ 10 billion.
Playtica was founded in 2010 by Robert Antokol, who still serves as the company’s CEO, and Uri Shahak, the son of former chief of staff Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, who retired about a decade ago. Although there are almost no Israeli shareholders left, the headquarters is in Herzliya, where it employs about 1,000 people, and has another 3,000 employees in 20 other offices around the world.
As mentioned, Playtica is a profitable company operating in a market where significant consolidation moves are taking place. If it is indeed sold, it could be an opening shot for a fever of acquisitions of Israeli companies of a different kind. Following the expectation of a rise in interest rates, in response to inflation that lifted its head and reached a 40-year high in the US (7.5% in the 12 months ended January), many stocks fell, most notably technology stocks, which include many Israeli companies issued on US stock exchanges. The last year or two. The fall in stock prices makes their companies cash registers already approaching their market value, a possible target for acquisition or merger.
Thus, Inshortech Lemonade, a company with $ 1 billion in cash, is currently trading at a value of $ 1.45 billion, after its share has fallen nearly 45% since the beginning of the year; Kaltura, whose $ 165 million cash is currently traded at just $ 280 million, after its stock fell 40 percent since the beginning of the year; Verskipade, which has developed technology to prevent fraud in online purchases, is trading at a value of $ 1.2 billion, after its stock has fallen 10% since the beginning of the year (and at a much more significant rate in the last six months). The company has liquid assets of $ 510 million.