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* Playtech shares jump 3.4% after news
* Eddie Jordan-led approach is third for Playtech
* Gambling software firm has agreed deal with Aristocrat
(Adds share reaction, recasts)
By Sachin Ravikumar and Juby Babu
Nov 18 (Reuters) - Britain's Playtech said it has
received a takeover approach from a group led by former Formula
One boss Eddie Jordan, the third such interest in the gambling
software maker, setting up a potential bidding battle.
The approach by JKO Play Ltd follows one from Playtech's
No.2 shareholder Gopher and a 2.1 billion pound ($2.8 billion)
offer by Australia's Aristocrat Leisure, which
Playtech's board has recommended to shareholders.
Shares in Playtech rose 4.4% to trade at 773.5 pence by 1045
GMT. Aristocrat had agreed to buy Playtech for 680 pence per
share.
The rush of interest in Playtech comes during a year of
increased deal-making in the industry as the United States opens
up to sports betting and potential bidders assess British
gambling expertise.
JKO has indicated to Playtech it was in talks with New
York-based investment firm Centerbridge Partners LP and other
parties to explore funding for a possible bid, Playtech said
late on Wednesday. Discussions with JKO were at an early stage
and there was no certainty that they would result in an offer,
it added.
JKO - controlled by Jordan and Keith O'Loughlin, a former
executive at U.S. slot machine maker Scientific Games -
confirmed in a separate statement it was evaluating making a
competing offer to buy Playtech.
The news was first reported https://bit.ly/3DzmjEw by Sky
News which said Jordan's consortium was working on a more than
3-billion-pound possible bid for Playtech.
Centerbridge did not immediately respond to a request for
comment outside regular business hours. A UK-based
representative for Hong Kong-based Gopher Investments declined
comment.
Aristocrat said in a statement it continued to work together
with Playtech to complete the proposed acquisition, adding that
the regulatory approval process was on track.
Jordan, a former racing driver himself, owned an eponymous
Formula One team until 2005 that included drivers like Rubens
Barrichello and Ralf Schumacher.
($1 = 0.7414 pounds)
(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar, Juby Babu and Nishit Jogi in
Bengaluru; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa, Rashmi Aich and
Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
