The convoluted battle for control of Playtech, the London-listed gambling software group, has taken a fresh twist with the emergence of a further potential bid for the whole company.

Sky News has learnt that TT Bond Partners, which advised on an earlier bid for Playtech from Gopher Investments, has asked Playtech’s board to release it from restrictions that would prevent it from tabling a further offer.

City sources said on Wednesday evening that the company’s board had consented to the request, paving the way for a renewed approach that could come in the next few days.

Another offer for Playtech would add to the febrile state in which the company has spent the last few months.

A £2.7bn bid from Australia’s Aristocrat Gaming unravelled on Wednesday when it failed to secure sufficient shareholder support, partly because of a bloc of Asian-based investors with which Playtech had tried unsuccessfully to engage in recent weeks.

The presence of those shareholders on the register was one factor in deterring the former Formula One team boss Eddie Jordan from submitting a formal offer for Playtech through his vehicle, JKO Play.

Sky News revealed last week that Playtech’s board, led by chairman Brian Mattingley, was drawing up contingency plans to sell its consumer and business operations separately if the Aristocrat deal failed.

Energy price cap: Households may get £200 support as announcement brought forward

Facebook owner Meta takes big share hit as it warns of ad revenue threats

Brexit: Northern Ireland minister accused of breaching international law after he orders halt to agri-food checks at ports by midnight

That was confirmed by Playtech on Wednesday, saying it would now explore approaches for parts of its business.

Sources said that TT Bond Partners, which was founded by former Goldman Sachs partner Teresa Teague and ex-Merrill Lynch banker Jonathan Bond, was “serious” about making an offer for Playtech.

TTB says it has “significant experience” of investing in technology-driven financial services businesses, including in the US, Pakistan, India and Hong Kong.

Asia-based Gopher has already agreed to buy Playtech’s financial trading arm, Finalto, in a $250m deal.

The Gopher bid on which TT Bond Partners had previously advised had proven to be impractical because of the timetable it had needed to be prepared in accordance with, they added.

Playtech claims to be the world’s largest supplier of online gaming and sports betting software.

Including debt, the company has an enterprise value of more than £2.5bn.

Its shares closed on Wednesday up 8p at 585p, well below the level of Aristocrat’s now-lapsed offer.

The global gambling sector has seen a deluge of major corporate deals over the last year, including most notably in the UK the takeover of William Hill by Caesars Entertainment, with its British operations subsequently acquired by 888, the London-listed group.

More recently, DraftKings, a US-based gambling giant, abandoned plans to bid for Entain, the owner of Ladbrokes and Coral in the UK.

Playtech declined to comment, while TT Bond Partners could not be reached.

Related posts:

Tech stock rally helps Nasdaq and S&P 500 to new record highs KPMG rebuilds restructuring arm months after £360m Interpath sale Quarantine rule change will ‘get global Britain back in business’ Facebook sees profits double to $10bn but warns of slowdown in months ahead CVC-backed Tipico places £1.5bn bet on William Hill bid Pound at eight-month low as ‘stagflation’ crisis fears take hold Sunak’s budget was progressive – but that doesn’t mean you will feel better off Ofgem considers changes to price cap as gas costs continue to challenge suppliers Cost of living surge yet to dent housing market as prices see strongest start to year since 2005 Face masks on flights ‘could be enforced for years’ as airlines seek consistency on rules Carillion liquidator’s claim against KPMG to seek over £1bn in damages Facebook owner Meta takes big share hit as it warns of ad revenue threats