Crispin Odey has dropped his opposition to a 5 million sale of Israeli trading platform Plus500 to Playtech, according to Bloomberg News.
Odey had said the offer “materially undervalued” the company, but apparently backed off trying to block the sale, which has now been approved by the company’s investors.
The 400 pence a share offer from the online gambling company won 93.4 percent approval at a meeting of investors in London, Plus500 said in a statement on Thursday. That vote indicates the company’s largest shareholder, Odey Asset Management, didn’t use its 20 percent stake to oppose the deal.
A spokeswoman for Odey declined to comment to Bloomberg.
Odey said in June it intended to vote against Playtech’s bid, hoping to attract higher offers.
Plus500 lost more than two thirds of its value in May after the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority ordered some customer accounts to be frozen in a review into anti-money- laundering controls, according to Bloomberg.
“It’s a fair price given the increased scrutiny,” Plus500 Chief Executive Officer Gal Haber said at the investor’s meeting. Other bidders “had time to make an offer, which they didn’t.”
Plus500 unfroze all but five accounts last month and said last week it had “agreed to revised procedures” for checking customer details and would be able to accept new U.K. clients from August.
The takeover is dependent on antitrust and regulatory clearance. Playtech plans to hold a meeting to seek approval from investors, it said in a separate statement.
