Pan-South American casino group Dreams SA has told investors that Jaime Wilhelm has resigned as chief executive officer, amid an investigation by Chile’s Competition Authority (FNE) over alleged market violations and fraud.
Last April, the FNE intervened in the planned merger of Dreams with its main market rival, Grupo Enjoy. The merger sought to control all Chilean casino licenses and concessions for municipal arcades.
The deal had put forward arrangements to address competition concerns raised by Chile’s Financial Markets Commission (CMF). However, the deal was abandoned at the final stage when the FNE launched an antitrust investigation into how the deal was formalized.
Wilhelm is among the executives to be investigated by the FNE for antitrust charges of collusion, allegedly aiming to secure outcomes that would benefit them financially.
The board of Dreams SA has accepted Wilhelm’s resignation. He will be retained as a corporate advisor during the firm’s transition. Consequently, Patricio Herman, the general manager of Dreams casino properties, will serve as interim CEO.
Last week, deal partner Enjoy announced that it has abandoned all negotiations related to a business merger.
