NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF THAT JURISDICTION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

1 December 2021

RECOMMENDED CASH ACQUISITION

of

Playtech plc ("Playtech")
by

Aristocrat (UK) Holdings Limited ("Bidco")

a wholly owned subsidiary of

Aristocrat Leisure Limited ("Aristocrat")

Update on Recommended Acquisition of Playtech

·   Playtech shareholders approve sale of Playtech's financial trading division, Finalto, meeting a key condition of Aristocrat's offer

·      Regulatory approvals process continues to advance positively

·      Recommended acquisition remains on track for completion in Q2 2022

On 17 October 2021, the boards of Playtech and Aristocrat announced the terms of a recommended cash acquisition of Playtech for 680 pence for each Playtech Share (the "Recommended Acquisition").

Aristocrat welcomes the announcement by Playtech that the resolution to approve the disposal of its financial trading division, Finalto, to Gopher Investments has been passed by the Playtech Shareholders. This satisfies Condition 3(s)(i) of Aristocrat's offer, as set out in Part 4 of the Scheme Document.

Aristocrat and Playtech are continuing to work together to complete the Recommended Acquisition. The process of submitting filings and seeking all required anti-trust, foreign investment, financial regulatory and gaming approvals is on track and is progressing well. Aristocrat remains focussed on advancing this and delivering transaction certainty to Playtech shareholders as soon as possible. Aristocrat continues to expect to complete the Recommended Acquisition as planned in the second quarter of calendar year 2022.

Aristocrat CEO and Managing Director, Mr Trevor Croker, said: "The approval given by Playtech shareholders to dispose of Finalto meets a condition of Aristocrat's recommended offer and is a further step forward in the completion process."

"Aristocrat's offer for Playtech has been recommended by the Playtech Board, and is the only offer on the table for shareholders. We believe that Aristocrat's offer provides an attractive value and enhanced regulatory and financial certainty for Playtech shareholders, while the combined group will also provide greater opportunities for Playtech employees in a leading global organisation."

"Aristocrat is well positioned to complete the transaction as planned in the second quarter of calendar year 2022", Mr Croker concluded.

The full terms and conditions of the Recommended Acquisition are set out in the scheme document which was published on 12 November 2021 (the "Scheme Document"). Playtech shareholder meetings to approve the Recommended Acquisition have been convened for 12 January 2022.

Capitalised terms used in this Announcement shall, unless otherwise defined, have the same meanings as set out in the Scheme Document. 

Further information

Enquiries:

Linklaters LLP is retained as English legal adviser and Allens as Australian legal adviser to Aristocrat and Bidco.

Important notices

Goldman Sachs International, which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority in the United Kingdom, is acting exclusively for Aristocrat, Bidco and the Aristocrat Group and no one else in connection with the Recommended Acquisition and will not be responsible to anyone other than Aristocrat and Bidco for providing the protections afforded to clients of Goldman Sachs International, nor for providing advice in connection with the Recommended Acquisition or any transaction or arrangement referred to herein.

This Announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute or form part of an offer to sell or an invitation to purchase any securities or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, pursuant to the Recommended Acquisition or otherwise.

The Recommended Acquisition shall be made solely by means of the Scheme Document (or, in the event that the Recommended Acquisition is implemented by means of a Takeover Offer, the offer document) which, together with the Forms of Proxy, contain the full terms and conditions of the Recommended Acquisition, including details of how to vote in respect of the Recommended Acquisition.

Forward-looking Statements

This Announcement (including information incorporated by reference into this Announcement), oral statements made regarding the Recommended Acquisition, and other information published by Playtech, any member of the Playtech Group, Bidco, Aristocrat or any member of the Aristocrat Group contain statements which are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements" (including "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Such forward-looking statements are prospective in nature and are not based on historical facts, but rather on current expectations and on numerous assumptions regarding the business strategies and the environment in which Playtech, any member of the Playtech Group, Bidco, Aristocrat or any member of the Aristocrat Group or the Combined Group shall operate in the future and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by those statements. 

The forward-looking statements contained in this Announcement relate to Playtech, any member of the Playtech Group, Bidco, Aristocrat or any member of the Aristocrat Group or the Combined Group's future prospects, developments and business strategies, the expected timing and scope of the Recommended Acquisition and other statements other than historical facts. In some cases, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms "believes", "estimates", "will look to", "would look to", "plans", "prepares", "anticipates", "expects", "is expected to", "is subject to", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "synergy", "strategy", "goal", "cost-saving", "projects", "intends", "may", "will", "shall" or "should" or their negatives or other variations or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements may include statements relating to the following: (i) future capital expenditures, expenses, revenues, earnings, synergies, economic performance, indebtedness, financial condition, dividend policy, losses and future prospects; (ii) business and management strategies and the expansion and growth of Playtech, any member of the Playtech Group, Bidco, Aristocrat or any member of the Aristocrat Group's operations and potential synergies resulting from the Recommended Acquisition; and (iii) the effects of global economic conditions and governmental regulation on Playtech's, any member of the Playtech Group's, Bidco's, Aristocrat's or any member of the Aristocrat Group's business. 

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that shall occur in the future. These events and circumstances include changes in the global, political, economic, business, competitive, market and regulatory forces, future exchange and interest rates, changes in tax rates, future business combinations or disposals, and any epidemic, pandemic or disease outbreak. If any one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialises or if any one or more of the assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may differ materially from those expected, estimated or projected. Such forward-looking statements should therefore be construed in the light of such factors.

None of Playtech, any member of the Playtech Group, Bidco, Aristocrat or any member of the Aristocrat Group, nor any of their respective associates or directors, officers or advisers, provides any representation, assurance or guarantee that the occurrence of the events expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements in this Announcement shall actually occur. Given these risks and uncertainties, potential investors should not place any reliance on forward-looking statements.

Specifically, statements of estimated cost savings and synergies relate to future actions and circumstances which, by their nature, involve risks, uncertainties and contingencies. As a result, the cost savings and synergies referred to may not be achieved, may be achieved later or sooner than estimated, or those achieved could be materially different from those estimated. Due to the scale of the Combined Group, there may be additional changes to the Combined Group's operations. As a result, and given the fact that the changes relate to the future, the resulting cost synergies may be materially greater or less than those estimated.

The forward-looking statements speak only at the date of this Announcement. All subsequent oral or written forward-looking statements attributable to any member of the Aristocrat Group or Playtech Group, or any of their respective associates, directors, officers, employees or advisers, are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statement above.

Playtech, each member of the Playtech Group, Bidco, Aristocrat and each member of the Aristocrat Group expressly disclaim any obligation to update such statements other than as required by law or by the rules of any competent regulatory authority, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Publication on website

A copy of this Announcement shall be made available, subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in Restricted Jurisdictions, on Aristocrat's website at https://power-of-play.com/ by no later than 12 noon (London time) on the Business Day following this Announcement. For the avoidance of doubt, the contents of this website are not incorporated into and do not form part of this Announcement.