Avonhurst advises on £3 billion Playtech bid

Eddie Jordan withdraws from multi-billion-pound race for Playtech

Avonhurst client JKO Play has withdrawn a potential takeover offer for the gambling company Playtech. JKO Play is owned by former Formula One team owner Eddie Jordan’s family office and gambling industry veteran Keith O’Loughlin. The company, which currently holds a 0.51% stake in Playtech had reviewed the possibility of placing a bid in excess of £3 billion for the acquisition of Playtech.

Avonhurst is a new fashioned law firm that provides legal services across deals and disputes, political advisory services and capital services.

Playtech is an FTSE 250 company that supplies online gaming software for companies including Bet365, William Hill, Betfair and Paddy Power.

Jonathan Bloom, Chief Executive of Avonhurst, comments: “Our ability to attract clients of the calibre of JKO Play and be instructed on such high value deals illustrates how our offering has grown over the last two and a half years. Sophisticated capital clients are increasingly valuing our comprehensive legal and advisory offering, assisting them in navigating complex deals and assess and protect their interests from all angles, including legal, regulatory and economic and political risk. Working on this mandate is evidence that our holistic approach to representing sophisticated capital isn’t just “nice to have” but required in today’s ever changing and complex deal environment.

“When Eddie and Keith hired Avonhurst, they were focused on our unique approach to service delivery, our shared risk approach and the value we placed on complete discretion. Over the 8 months we worked on the deal, we were able to assemble the relevant legal services the client needed across corporate, finance and capital markets, we leveraged our advisory services business to provide intelligence regarding shareholders and helped introduce capital to the deal through our capital services business. We also brought into the deal additional advisors as required to ensure our clients received the very best advice. No other firm could have provided all these services under one roof in the seamless and coordinated approach taken by Avonhurst.”

Eddie Jordan, Chairman of JKO, comments: “Races aren’t won by a driver alone, it’s the critical parts of the team that deliver a victory. Avonhurst was key to our ability, not only to assemble the team of advisors and partners that participated in the deal, but in helping JKO navigate the risks and opportunities inherent in such a complex series of transactions.

“We are immensely proud of the energy devoted to this project by our advisory team and partners and of the close relationships we have built. We continue to evaluate a number of opportunities in the gaming and associated technology sectors, where we see exciting growth prospects in a number of international markets.