Playtech to enter FX trading market

ider Playtech has agreed to purchase a majority stake in platform and payments services provider Trade FX for an initial cash payment of €208m, according to Reuters.

Playtech will be making an expansion into the forex trading market and intends to buy a 91.1% fully-diluted stake in Trade FX, with an additional payment of up to €250m based on future performance.

Trade FX is majority owned by a trust for the benefit of Teddy Sagi, who is also Playtech’s majority shareholder.

Playtech chief executive Mor Weizer is quoted by Reuters as saying: "We intend to offer TradeFX trading platform to all of Playtech's licensees and other gaming companies, given the fact that the trading platform is complementary to gaming companies' operations.”

Weizer also said that gaming will remain Playtech’s primary focus.

Both cost and revenue synergies are expected to be generated by the deal and Playtech will be able to enhance its customer base, as Trade FX operates in 100 countries.

Cost of shares in Playtech increased by 5% this morning (Thursday).

Playtech’s latest planned acquisition comes after the Isle-of-Man based provider confirmed a $16.4m acquisition of Yoyo Games in February, the creator of GameMaker: Studio, a mobile-driven cross-platform casual game development technology.