UPDATE: It seems these early reports were a little off; Reuters has since spotted a filing that suggests Joffre is to pay $2.2bn for a minority stake of 25.73% at $21 per share. Original report continues below.
After months of exploring strategic alternatives, Playtika may have found a buyer in private equity firm Joffre Capital.
Axios reports that the two have agreed a deal that sees Joffre take a majority stake in Playtika at $21 per share. Playtika was trading at $14.39 at the close of trading yesterday, but is up to $16.80 after hours.
Playtika went public in January 2021 at $27 per share, which valued the company at $11.1bn. Its market cap as of yesterday was $5.9bn.
Playtika has been looking into ‘strategic alternatives’ – including a sale or merger – since February.
Joffre Capital describes itself as a technology buyout fund, run by entrepreneurs and execs with experience in senior positions at Amazon, Baidu, Blackstone, Warburg Pincus and Yahoo/Verizon. Axios notes that it is led by James Lu, a former Baidu exec who also serves as chairman of Grindr.
