Canadian gaming supplier Amaya, Inc. last week began a listing on the NASDAQ stock exchange. The listing occurred in just four months, less than half the time originally anticipated by the company. The company also is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
“Our listing on NASDAQ is an important milestone for Amaya and a testament to the tremendous progress we have made over our five years as a public company,” Amaya Chairman and CEO David Baazov said.
The listing comes just after completion of the sale of Amaya’s Georgia-based slot manufacturing subsidiary Cadillac Jack to rival slot-maker AGS, a $476 million deal that paid the subsidiary’s debt in full.
Meanwhile, an announcement by Quebec’s Autorité des marchés financiers has confirmed that both CEO Baazov and CFO Daniel Sebag were under investigation for possibly violating Canadian gaming law in completing the $4.9 billion acquisition of the parent company of iGaming giant PokerStars.
The investigation flies in the face of one of the key reasons PokerStars was sold to Amaya—namely to remove the stigma of past legal troubles in the U.S. for the company. However, under Amaya, PokerStars has continued to face a long battle as it tries to become licensed for online gaming in New Jersey and has not been cleared by that state’s gaming regulators.
Investigators want to know if the proper legal processes was followed during the negotiation and acquisition of PokerStars, according to reports.
Amaya Gaming has confirmed that confirmed that Baazov and Sebag are under investigation by Quebec authorities but stated that the company followed proper legal procedures and are confident the investigation will confirm that.
“I believe that any concerns that I or other Amaya officers or directors violated any Canadian securities laws are unfounded and we are confident that at the end of its investigation, the AMF will come to the same conclusion,” Baazov said in a press statement.
In December 2014, the AMF used search warrants to visit a number of Amaya Gaming’s offices including the Canaccord Genuity and Manulife Financial and the company’s headquarters in Montreal, Canada but reportedly did not find any conclusive evidence against Amaya.
“Amaya has always been confident that it would be cleared of any wrongdoing,” Eilers Research gaming analyst Adam Krejcik said. “Gaining a listing on a major exchange like the NASDAQ sends a message to investors. On a level, it signals that things are OK on the regulatory front.”
Baazov told Canada’s Globe and Mail that the NASDAQ listing “will provide greater visibility and better liquidity for our stock and help broaden our shareholder base.”
