Amaya latest: Baazov confirms his acquisition drive continues (update)

Apparently unfazed by revelations earlier this week that he does not have the backing of Dubai investment company KBC Aldini as originally claimed for his multi-billion dollar acquisition offer on the Amaya online gambling group (see previous reports), David Baazov issued a statement in Montreal Wednesday advising that the acquisition offer remains on the table.

In his statement Baazov confirmed that an equity commitment letter delivered to him regarding KBC Aldini financing support had been provided without the Dubai-based company’s knowledge, and that KBC has not committed to any financial arrangement.

Our readers will recall that KBC complained to the Securities and Exchange Commission that its name had been amongst four financial backers allegedly supporting Baazov’s acquisition run on Amaya.

Baazov’s statement confirmed that his intentions regarding the acquisition of Amaya remain, asserting:

“Baazov intends to obtain replacement financing and still currently intends to acquire Amaya on the terms previously disclosed by him on November 14, 2016.”

The statement gave Amaya shares, which had dropped by almost 7 percent following news of the KBC complaint, a 2.5 percent boost Wednesday.

The Globe and Mail newspaper carried an interview with KBC’s chief executive, Kalani Lal, in which he said that he had no idea of “who Amaya is” and reiterated that there had been no financial commitment by his company, “nor have we had any discussions or any type of verbal communication.”

The SEC and the AMF (Quebec’s securities regulator) have both declined to comment on the issue when approached by media.

Amaya has confirmed that it is still studying the Baazov offer.