A little known Hong Kong investment firm recently bought up 11.2 percent of all the shares issued for online poker giant Amaya Gaming. Though purchase was made in a discreet fashion, the deal could breath new life into the troubled online gambling giant.
The little known investor shelled out somewhere in the neighborhood of $200,496,000 CD ($15,619,432 USD) for approximately 9,105,000 shares of Amaya Gaming stock at $22.40 per share. That makes up 6.25 of all Amaya stock.
This is not, it turns out, Discovery Key Investments’ first shopping spree at the Amaya Gaming Gift Shop.
According to a report on CalvinAyre.com, the investment shop already owned 7.2 million Amaya Gaming shares when the deal went down. At this time it doesn’t seem clear when, exactly, Discovery made that particular purchase.
So who’s the force behind Discovery Key Investments and its strong interest in online poker? There’s really not much to learn in this department. According to a press release the company is owned by one Tang Hao and is based out of Hong Kong.
Anyone hoping to glean what Hao’s strategy behind gobbling up Amaya Gaming stock will not find any specifics from his company’s public announcements. That same press release goes on to say:
Mr. Hao indirectly acquired the Common Shares for investment purposes. Depending upon the circumstances, Mr. Hao may, from time to time, acquire additional securities of the Issuer or dispose of all or a portion of the securities of the Issuer previously acquired.
Hao’s big move is a big boost for Amaya Gaming at a time when the company is transitioning away from the troubled leadership of David Baazov. Baazov is currently under indictment for his role in an alleged insider trading scheme and resigned from his post as Amaya CEO last year.