Playtech co-founder and billionaire Teddy Sagi has offloaded a 4.1% stake in the online casino software giant for the sum of £113 million. The Israeli tech-entrepreneur who was linked to 16 offshore accounts in the Panama papers last year, sold 13 million shares at 872.5p to a French company Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management, which lowered his stake in Playtech down to 17.8%.
This is the second batch of shares Sagi has sold in the past 6 months, the last being in November, when the billionaire offloaded a 12% stake in the company under a “lock-up” agreement which had him agree not to sell any more shares until May 29th, 2017. However, the agreement was subject to “customary exceptions” and consent from the UBS, which he received.
According to news reports, Sagi sold his Playtech shares to further fund his London property campaigns and be at the forefront of a “co-working revolution”. He says that he sees opportunities in the real-estate market, but also the co-working sector, and reportedly plans to set up creative centers for start-ups and entrepreneurs in London’s iconic areas. In October 2016, Sagi spent $336 million to buy the Holborn Links Estate – a 34 property portfolio with 465,000 square feet of space located in the central area of London.
But while Sagi’s interests may be directed elsewhere, the company is working full steam to stay on top of the online gaming industry. Two months ago, the game studio entered the online Romanian market with a new live dealer set up in Bucharest, while over a week ago they were the first game supplier to launch their products in a Czech online casino. The company also reported a 12% growth in year-on-year revenue this year in the sum of €708.6 million, while their gaming revenue went up by 21%.