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[EZ2]

PokerStars owner Amaya says CEO proposes takeover

REUTERS 8:15 AM ET 2/1/2016
Symbol Last Price Change
AYA 10.56 0 (0%)
QUOTES AS OF 04:00:00 PM ET 01/29/2016

Feb 1 (Reuters) - Canada's Amaya Inc(AYA), operator of online gambling website PokerStars, said it received a non-binding proposal from Chief Executive David Baazov to buy the company for about C$21 per share.

The proposal values Amaya(AYA) at C$4.39 billion ($3.13 billion) on a fully diluted share basis as of Sept. 30.

Based on Amaya's(AYA) basic share count, the proposed offer values the company at about C$2.8 billion, representing a premium of about 40 percent to its Friday close on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Baazov currently owns 24.6 million common shares of Amaya(AYA), representing about 18.6 percent of the outstanding common shares, and has options to buy 550,000 more shares.

The CEO's move comes after Montreal-based Amaya(AYA) warned in November that its 2015 profit would be hurt by a strong U.S. dollar and the delay in the launch of its sportsbook.

In December, a Kentucky court ordered the company to pay $870 million in penalties to cover alleged losses by the state's residents who played real-money poker on PokerStars' website between 2006 and 2011.

Amaya (AYA) bought PokerStars in 2014 through the $4.9 billion takeover of Rational Group. ($1 = 1.4025 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Amrutha Gayathri in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)

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