After a spat with the management of the company over the deal with Playtech, Odey Asset Management has reaffirmed its commitment to hold shares of Plus500 Ltd (LON:PLUS). The firm has announced in a regulatory filing with the London Stock Exchange that it is still holding interest in more than 25 percent of the float of Plus500 Ltd (LON:PLUS). However it has chosen to divest the instruments in which it is holding the share, adding some CFDs.
Back in June, Odey Asset Management stated that Playtech’s bid at 400 pence per share had materially undervalued Plus500 Ltd (LON:PLUS) and classified Playtech's bid as "opportunistic". At the time, the company was once again holding above 25 percent of the float. After the stake of the fund has remained just above the regulatory threshold at 25 per cent, the firm has chosen to divest its holdings in the company and use an alternative instrument to keep its interest.
The total amount of voting rights that the company holds was 29,247,217 which totals 25.46 percent of the float of Plus500 Ltd (LON:PLUS). Among these, 17,867,358 are held in contracts for difference (CFDs), while 9.91 percent are held in ordinary shares.
Within the different funds of the company holding the interest in shares of the U.K. listed brokerage, the CF Odey Absolute Return Fund holds 17.88 percent, while Odey Allegra Developed Markets Fund holds 4.54 percent. The remaining 3 percent are distributed in other funds. This Tuesday, the shares of Plus500 marked a drop of over 9 percent after hitting a new high after the cancellation of the deal with Playtech above 500 pence per share.
Contrary to some media reports, JP Morgan is not an actual substantial shareholder of Plus500 Ltd (LON:PLUS), it instead acts as a custodian and hence has over 10 percent of the float on its books.
