SpringOwl Asset Management: Baazov's Bid Lacks Transparency

Published on December 6th, 2016 9:42 pm EST

An activist shareholder, SpringOwl Asset Management, spoke out earlier today regarding David Baazov's proposed purchase of Amaya Inc., the parent company of Pokerstars.

SpringOwl's CEO, Jason Ader, said that Baazov's proposed $4.1 billion takeover of Amaya Inc. "lacked tranparency" and that the "information about the sources of funding raises a lot of questions".

The market remains skeptical of Baazov's bid, which would see shareholders of the company receive $C24 per share. With shares of Amaya Inc. trading at $19.32 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the market is clearly skeptical that Baazov's deal will eventually be approved.

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In his letter to Amaya's Chairman and CEO, Ader said that Amaya needs to move on from Baazov unless he is willing to increase his cash bid and "make his sources of funding more transparent". There are clear concerns about Baazov's funding for the deal, especially after a rumored backer of the deal revealed that he was not involved and that he was falsely being tied to the deal.

Ader said that the company needs to rid itself of the "undue influence of Baazov", who stepped away from the company earlier in the year thanks to an ongoing insider trading investigation. Baazov retains a large stake in the company and is attempting to take Amaya private.

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Amaya, for their part, continues to maintain that they are still mulling over Baazov's offer.

According to Ader, the company needs to move forward, as the uncertainty over the situation is "holding back a valuable company and delaying hiring".

Ader held nothing back in his letter regarding his opinion of Baazov, as he said that the former CEO's bid was a "continued attempt by a discredited former executive to capitalize on the Amaya situation at other shareholder's expense."

Source: Bloomberg.com - Amaya Shareholder Says Baazov Bid Lacks Transparency

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