Gambling technology group Playtech has received a third takeover approach, from a company controlled by the former F1 boss Eddie Jordan.
The approach puts Jordan in competition with Playtech’s second-biggest shareholder Gopher and Aristocrat, an Australian slot machine developer.
Playtech said late on Wednesday that JKO Play Limited, a consortium led by Jordan and a former Scientific Games executive, had approached its board on November 5 to seek “access to certain due diligence information” ahead of a possible offer.
The statement was made after Sky News reported that Jordan was working with US private equity group Centerbridge and planning a more than £3bn bid for the company.
There have been a series of deals across the gambling industry, as companies look to consolidate in the face of stricter regulation in countries such as the UK and Germany. Businesses are also seeking ways to capitalise on the rapidly growing market in the US, after a ban on sports betting and online gaming was overturned in 2018.
Entain, a Playtech customer, saw off an £18.4bn bid from US rival DraftKings last month, while Flutter, the owner of Paddy Power and SkyBet, announced on Thursday that it was buying the bingo operator Tombola for £402m.
JKO’s approach for Playtech sets up a potential bidding war with Aristocrat, which made a £2.7bn offer that was recommended to shareholders by the board in October.
Playtech, founded in 1999 by Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi, said this month that three days after the Aristocrat offer was made public, Gopher approached the board for information about the company ahead of a potential bid.
Gopher agreed in September to buy Playtech’s financial trading division Finalto for $250m.
Since Aristocrat’s offer at 680p per share, Playtech stock has risen to 770p after Hong Kong-based investors began to build stakes at above the offer price.
Any counterbid for the company would need to be above 748p a share to overcome irrevocable undertakings from shareholders in favour of the Aristocrat offer.
Since he left Formula 1, Jordan has built a career in the media and set up JKO about 18 months ago.
Any deal would be contingent on the outcome of discussions about listing Playtech’s joint venture with Mexican casino operator Caliente in the US through a Spac, people close to the negotiations said.
Of the three bidders, Aristocrat is the only one to have secured regulatory approval to operate in the US, which is forecast by analysts to become one of the world’s largest betting markets.
The UK competition regulator is due to announce a deadline for when JKO and Gopher “must clarify their intentions in relation to Playtech”, Playtech said.
JKO declined to comment. Centerbridge did not immediately respond to a request for comment.