Amaya's ex-CEO offers to buy PokerStars and Full Tilt

Picture courtesy: tvanouvelles.ca

In a surprise turn of events, Amaya's ex-CEO David Baazov, has offered to buy the Canadian online gambling company in a deal valued at C$6.7 billion including debt.

Amaya, which owns PokerStars and Full Tilt, said in February it had received a non-binding proposal from Baazov to take the company private for C$21 per share.

However, two months after making the offer, Baazov was charged with insider trading by Quebec's securities regulator, and the company said he was taking an indefinite paid leave of absence. Baazov eventually resigned from all positions within the company and it was believed he had also abandoned his plans to take the company private.

It appears that was not true, as according to Reuters Baazov has now made a new proposal to take the company private (after pleading not quilty to the insider trading charges and planning to fight them in court):

Baazov, who already owns about 17.2 percent of Amaya, including options, said he made the offer on behalf of a to-be-formed entity led by him.

The offer including debt and transaction costs is valued at C$6.7 billion, Amaya said in a regulatory filing.

The equity portion of the deal would be C$4.1 billion and will be mostly financed by four funds, which have committed C$3.65 billion and Baazov's shares.

Amaya Inc's board has said that they will review the bid from David Baazov. Just last month, British bookmaker William Hill Plc and Amaya abandoned merger talks, after the deal was thrown into doubt when a leading investor in William Hill said it would oppose the plan.