By Investing.com Staff
Playtika Holding Corp (NASDAQ:PLTK) confirmed rumors overnight that Joffre Capital will purchase 106.1 million shares of the mobile gaming company currently held by the company's largest shareholder, Playtika Holding UK II Limited for $21 per share. The deal represents 25.7% of the shares outstanding and was valued at over $2.2 billion.
Joffre Capital is a private equity fund that specializes in the tech sector, with a presence across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. It was founded by a group of entrepreneurs and executives in the technology and finance industries, who previously held senior positions at Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), Blackstone (NYSE:BX), Warburg Pincus, and Yahoo/Verizon.
Stifel analyst Drew Crum highlights that the news follows the late-February announcement that the company was exploring strategic alternatives, along with the late-January press release indicating that Playtika Holding UK II was considering the sale of what equated to 15%-25% of the total shares for Playtika, "and thus this news would seem to bring some closure to the process."
Additionally, Crum believes this transaction would eliminate Playtika's status as a "controlled company", a positive, in his opinion. Further, he notes the $21/share proposed valuation represents a premium of 50%+ versus Playtika's current price.
The analyst has a Buy rating and $20 price target on Playtika.
Shares of Playtika fell 8% despite the news to $13.19.