(PRESS RELEASE) -- Playtech is pleased to announce it has reached agreement on the terms of its strategic agreement with Tecnologia en Entretenimiento Caliplay, S.A.P.I. de C.V., a subsidiary of Corporación Caliente, S.A. de C.V.
Under the amended terms, Playtech will:
- Hold a 30.8% equity interest in Caliente Interactive, Inc., which will be the new holding company of Caliplay, incorporated in the U.S.
- Be entitled to receive dividends alongside other shareholders in Cali Interactive. Playtech will also have the right to appoint a Director to the Board of Cali Interactive
- Enter into a revised eight-year B2B software licence and services agreement
- Receive from Cali Interactive an additional US$140m paid in cash, phased over a four-year period
In addition, Caliplay has resumed paying the Playtech Group its software and services fees with more than €150 million (amounting to more than 80%) of the unpaid fees due from Caliplay to the Group having now been received. The balance has been paid into escrow and is to be released either on the closing of the revised arrangements (expected in Q1 2025) or by the end of 2025 at the latest.
The revised arrangements are conditional upon Mexican antitrust approval and closing is expected to take place in Q1 2025. There is an agreed standstill of all current legal proceedings between Caliente, Caliplay and Playtech, and those proceedings will be dismissed in full once the revised arrangements come into effect.
Caliplay trading updatePlaytech has now received updated information on Caliplay's financial performance and confirms that Caliplay has continued to perform strongly in the first half of 2024.
Mor Weizer, CEO of Playtech, said:
"During the past nine years, we have worked closely with Caliplay to create a successful and rapidly growing digital business in Mexico. The revised arrangements mark the beginning of an exciting new chapter that will build on the impressive progress to date, with a view to driving significant further growth for Cali Interactive in the future.
"The agreement with Caliente and Caliplay underlines the attractiveness of Playtech's leading proprietary technology. With a strong position in Mexico and exposure to other fast-growing markets in the Americas and Europe, we remain well-placed to deliver strong growth in our B2B business in the coming years."
Emilio Hank, Chairman of Caliplay, said:
"We are delighted to finalise this renewed agreement which shows the inherent strength of the strategic relationship between Caliplay and Playtech. We are focused on growing Caliplay, leveraging our core strengths and Playtech's leading technology to broaden our geographical footprint, as we continue in our mission to give the best gaming experiences to our customers in Mexico and beyond."