Investing.com - Israeli gaming company Playtech Plc (LONDON:PTEC) has agreed to acquire spread betting company Plus500 Ltd (LONDON:PLUSP) for approximately £460 million in a deal announced on Monday.
The final deal values Plus500 at £459.6 million or £4 per share, almost half the value of the company before the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority announced a review of its anti-money laundering procedures two weeks ago.
The prospects of an FCA review triggered a collapse in the company’s share price.
The board of Plus500 also issued a profit warning for this year along with news of the sale.
The company said it "now expects group revenue for 2015 to be lower than in 2014, with margins expected to be significantly lower due to maintained marketing spend". It added that the sale of the company was expected to “immediately” enhance earnings.
Playtech which provides software used in sports betting and online gaming, bought a majority stake in trading platform and payment services provider TradeFX for $224 million earlier this year.
Playtech CEO Mor Weizer said “having recently completed the acquisition of TradeFX, the opportunity to acquire Plus500 will prove transformational for our ambitions to expand Playtech’s wider offering”.
“As an immediately earnings enhancing acquisition, the combination of the two businesses is compelling, enabling us to apply our market-leading products and services to the enlarged financial trading business as we continue to execute our growth strategy for the Group,” he added.
The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of September, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval.
Both companies are traded on the London Stock Exchange.