Playtech COO offloads shares

Financial and business media outlets reported Friday that Shimon Akad, COO and Israel CEO of Playtech plc, had sold 18,856 shares the day before to earn GBP 181,583.28.

Joining Playtech in 2011, Akad headed Videobet operations and served as VP Operations responsible for development, delivery and day-to-day operations, according to the Bloomberg news service.

He has both software development and extensive international land gaming management experience, and in late 2015 he was appointed Playtech chief operations officer, replacing Shay Segev (see previous reports).

The sale follows that of another shareholder – Teddy Sagi – who in November last year sold an initial 12 percent interest in the online gambling software company. That was followed in March this year by the sale of more shares, which raised GBP 113 million for Sagi, who founded Playtech in 1999.

In a June 2017 report the Financial Times reported that Sagi has been selling the shares to raise GBP 340 million which he intends to invest in property; the publication noted that the latest shares offload has left Sagi with just a 6.3 interest in Playtech.

Analysts remained positive on Playtech shares following Akad’s sell off, and on Friday the share price held at 968.50, falling between one-year historical levels of 757.50 to 1,020.00. That’s not far off the 50-day moving average of 972.85.

Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating.

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