Amaya Inc.’s special committee of directors announced it has appointed Barclays Capital Canada Inc. and the Toronto-based law firm Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP to evaluate any takeover offers the company may receive.
The company says it has been notified that its executive vice-president for corporate development, along with three other employees, may be participating in the potential takeover being proposed by CEO David Baazov.
The online gambling company didn’t identify Baazov’s partners by name, but he company’s executive VP for corporate development is Marlon Goldstein, who is also Amaya’s general counsel.
Barclays will act as the company’s exclusive advisor to assess the all-cash buyout proposal that has been proposed by Baazov.
“Amaya Inc. announced that the special committee of the board of directors of Amaya has appointed Barclays Capital Canada Inc. to act as its exclusive financial advisor in connection with the previously announced notice that Amaya has received from its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, David Baazov, that he intends to make an all-cash proposal to acquire Amaya at a price estimated by Mr. Baazov to be C$21.00 per common share,” the announcement said. “The special committee has also engaged Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP as its legal advisor in connection with the notice received from Mr. Baazov.”
Baazov has begun preliminary discussions with a group of potential investors to make an all-cash offer by the end of February aimed at giving the group the company’s full ownership.
“Amaya has been notified that Amaya’s Executive Vice President, Corporate Development & General Counsel (Marlon Goldstein), along with three other employees, may be participating in Mr. Baazov’s potential transaction proposal,” the company said in a press release. “The special committee has neither received nor solicited a formal bid or offer related to a potential transaction and there can be no assurance that Mr. Baazov’s notice will result in a formal bid or offer or that any such bid or offer will ultimately result in a completed transaction.”
Baazov and the group of investors have reportedly prepared a C$21 ($14.98) per share offer, which represents a premium of about 40 percent to Amaya’s close on the Toronto Stock Exchange on January 29.
BNN business news channel also reported that Baazov has hired Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs as financial advisers, according to three separate sources. BNN said Baazov wouldn’t comment.
Baazov owns 24.6 million common shares of Amaya—approximately 18.6 percent of the outstanding common shares—and has options to buy 550,000 more shares, according to PokerNews.com.
