Playtech to buy B2B market maker ACM for up to $150m

Playtech has agreed to buy technology, intellectual property and certain customer assets from UK-based B2B market maker, dealer and broker Alpha - also known as ACM - for up to $150m as it continues to enhance its financials division's B2B offering.

The company also said on Wednesday that its financials division will now be known as TradeTech Group to better reflect the full capabilities of the businesses within the division and align its brand recognition throughout the industry.

As a result of the acquisition of the assets a team from Alpha will join the TradeTech Group and the brand TradeTech Alpha will be created to deliver a bespoke risk management and trading solution to B2B customers.

Alpha focuses on delivering bespoke risk management and trading services to institutional and professional clients. In line with Playtech's strategy to acquire bolt-on technology and additional services, TradeTech Group has agreed to acquire various assets from Alpha including a portfolio of international B2B clients, its proprietary trading technology, and the institutional focused Alpha Pro trading platform. The trading, risk, dealing and business development teams of Alpha will join TradeTech Group, including around 20 staff based in the UK.

As part of the deal, Playtech will make an initial upfront payment of $5m, two staged payments based on 1x EBITDA of 2017 and 2018 and a contingent consideration based on 5.2x the 2019 EBITDA, minus the initial payments and 2017 and 2018 payments. The total consideration will be capped at $150m.

Ron Hoffman, the chief executive officer of Playtech's financials division, said: "This is a significant step in the evolution of TradeTech. The financial trading industry is driven by the core capabilities of platform technology, customer acquisition and retention, CRM management, and financial trading and risk management expertise.

"The acquisition of Alpha's high-quality technology and teams of industry experts will significantly deepen our expertise in trading and risk management, allowing TradeTech Group to offer a full turnkey solution to B2B clients across the industry."