PlayUp board looks into sale of business with new strategic review
Gaming and betting operator PlayUp has announced a strategic review, in which it will consider a number of “alternatives” for the business – which could include selling the company altogether.
The review will also consider potential strategic partnerships and other transactions.
PlayUp said that investment bank Innovation Capital LLC will act as the exclusive financial advisor for the review process.
The review was initiated by the PlayUp board of directors.
PlayUp also announced that it is close to launching its Betting, Entertainment and Sports Technology (BEST) platform in the US, and that it is close to completing the Gaming Labs international certification process.
The platform allows users to use a single app and wallet to make bets across the US and Australia.
PlayUp is currently live in a number of US states, including New Jersey and Colorado for sports betting.
At the beginning of the year, PlayUp received an investment of $35m (£29.5m/€34.9m) from cryptocurrency exchange group FTX.
PlayUp had been in talks to sell its Australian business to FTX for $450m – however, the deal collapsed.
PlayUp claimed that this was because its US chief executive, Dr Laila Mintas, violated her contract by contacting Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX, and telling him that PlayUp was “not clean” and had “systemic issues”.
In turn, PlayUp was granted a temporary restraining order against Mintas following these allegations.
However, that order was quashed less than one month later in January after a judge ruled PlayUp had not sufficiently proved its claims. Mintas had argued that the claims from PlayUp did not make sense, because – as a shareholder – she would have lost a large amount of money in making the FTX deal fall through.