Baazov sells a third of his dominant stake in Amaya online gambling group

Embattled former CEO and dominant shareholder of Amaya Group, David Baazov, has sold almost a third of his shares in the company, disposing of 7 million shares for a total of Cdn$133 million or 4.8 percent of Amaya’s equity…and he still holds 17.6 million shares or 12.1 percent of the Amaya equity.

Baazov’s reason for the sale was reportedly “for investment purposes”.

Canadian media reports on the sale included reminders that Baazov, who stepped down as CEO last year, is facing insider trading charges later this year arising from the US$4.9 billion purchase of Pokerstars parent group The Rational Group several years ago by Amaya.

Amaya’s share price surged nearly 6 percent as news of the reduction in Baazov’s holding went public, perhaps an indicator of how concerned investors have been over his continued association with the brand.

Our readers will recall that earlier this week a refinancing agreement between Amaya and its lenders included a requirement that no further attempts by “a certain shareholder” to secure control of the company would be entertained. It was widely speculated that the exclusion has Baazov specifically in mind as a result of two recent failed attempts to acquire Amaya.

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