London-listed gaming technology and services provider Playtech has announced plans to buy back up to €50m of the company's shares, reflecting management's "continued confidence in the growth and prospects of the business".
The company said that it would seek to reduce its share capital by buying back up to 6m ordinary shares up to a value of €50m, using existing cash resources.
The buyback programme will have no impact on Playtech's M&A strategy, with its pipeline remaining healthy, the company added.
The launch of the buyback programme comes after Playtech founder Teddy Sagi reduced his stake in the solutions giant last week , selling off 38.7m shares, or 12 per cent of the company’s total share capital, for £329m.
Playtech itself was not party to the placing and did not receive any proceeds from the sale.
Alongside the announcement of the share buyback, Playtech also addressed Tuesday's announcement by the UK Financial Conduct Authority regarding stronger controls on Contract for Difference (CFD) providers. This followed similar moves by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).
In the past week the CySEC has banned deposit and other bonus payments to retail traders, while the FCA proposed strict new regulations to safeguard inexperienced CFD traders.
Playtech said that it has always aimed to operate its Financials Division at the very highest standards of regulation and therefore the actions of CySEC and the FCA are not expected to have a material impact on its operations.
Shares in Playtech plc (Co. Data) (LSE:PTEC) closed in London Tuesday at 798.00 pence per share, down from a 52-week high of 937.81 pence per share set on November 24th.
