In a bizarre turn of events on Tuesday, a Canadian newspaper reported that Dubai investment banking firm, KBC Aldini Capital Limited, denied backing the Amaya $6.7 billion takeover deal in a bid to take the gaming company private. Amaya is the parent company of PokerStars, the largest online poker site in the world.
Amaya Shares Plummeted
After it was reported that KBC denied any involvement in Baazov’s buyout deal of the company, Amaya stock fell seven percent on Tuesday for its third consecutive day of losses.
Kalani Lal, who is the Chief Executive Officer of KBC, told the Globe and Mail newspaper in a phone interview that he “didn’t know what Amaya was” and that his company has filed a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
KBC Listed in the SEC Filing
Baazov stated in the SEC filing that there were four private equity backers that would help finance the Amaya deal in a proposed $3.5 billion takeover offer, including Head and Shoulders Global Investment Fund SPC, Goldenway Capital SPC, Ferdyne Advisory Inc., and KBC Aldini Capital Limited.
Investigation by Block & Leviton LLP
Just a few hours after the news broke, Boston-based law firm Block & Leviton said it was investigating matters relating to
“potential securities fraud or manipulation claims involving David Baazov, the former CEO of Amaya Inc.” to determine whether Amaya investors can recover any losses under the federal securities laws. The law firm is wanting to speak to any investor who purchased Amaya stock on or after November 14, 2016.
Fraud Charges
This isn’t Baazov’s only issue at the moment that could land him in hot water, he stands accused of an “insider trading scheme” where he allegedly shared confidential information with other parties, a close circle of friends and family, in an attempt to benefit from illegal stock trades, as well as to influence the price of Amaya.
The group Baazov alleged confided with is said to have profited around $1.5 million dollars in separate stock trades going back as far as 2010. If found guilty of the insider trading charges, he could face up to 5 years in prison.
It all has a bad taste to it.
