Playtech PLC (LON:PTEC) saw its shares fall today after the online gaming software supplier’s founder, Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi sold a bigger stake than expected in the company via a secondary placing following “strong investor demand”.
In early afternoon trading, Playtech shares were 3.4%, or 33.5p lower at 960.0p.
Brickington Trading Ltd - a wholly-owned subsidiary of a trust of which Sagi is the ultimate beneficiary - said it had sold 36.5mln Playtech shares at a price of 924p each after an accelerated bookbuild, raising £337.3m.
READ: Playtech merger with Plus500 collapses
Sagi, who sold a 12% shareholding in Playtech last November for £330mln, has reportedly pocketed in excess of US$1.35bn in cash through selling his shares in the company he founded in 1998.
Yesterday Brickington said it planned to sell 32.0mln shares, which equated to a 10% stake in Playtech, but increased this to a 11.5% holding due to investor demand.
After the disposal, Brickington now has 20.1 million shares in Playtech remaining, representing a 6.3% stake in the company, and has agreed to not dispose of these shares for a period of 180 days.
Yesterday’s statement said the placing was undertaken "to further diversify Sagi and his family's investment portfolio and, in particular, to help finance a significantly increased focus on real estate and real estate related investments in respect of flexible working hubs and e-commerce".