The Stars Group
The Stars Group (formerly known as Amaya Inc., Amaya Gaming and Amaya Gaming Group) is a Canadian gaming and online gambling company traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (symbol TSX: TSGI)/(NASDAQ: TSG) and headquartered in suburban Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In June 2014, the company agreed to buy the parent company of PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, owned by Isai and Mark Scheinberg, for $4.9 billion[1][2] The takeover made Amaya the world's biggest publicly listed online gambling company.[3] The deal was closed on August 1, 2014,[4] with final payment being made May 31, 2017.[5]
The company produces gaming products and services including online casino, poker, sportsbook, platform, lotteries and slot machines software.[6] It claims some of the world’s largest gaming operators and casinos are powered by its online, mobile, and land-based products.[3] The company employs over 1,500 people in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia.[7]
In March 2016, Amaya's CEO, David Baazov, was charged by Canadian regulators with multiple securities fraud charges.[8] Baazov took an indefinite leave of absence shortly thereafter,[9] and resigned in August.[10] On December 20, 2016, Baazov dropped a bid to buy the company with a "virtually unknown" group of outside investors, one of whom denied being involved.[11]
On August 1, 2017, the company changed it's name to The Stars Group.[12]
References
- ↑ "Amaya Agrees to Acquire Rational Group for $4.9B". Amaya Gaming. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
- ↑ "Amaya Gaming In Deal To Buy PokerStars For $4.9 Billion". Forbes. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
- 1 2 "Canada's Amaya acquiring PokerStars owner Rational Group for $4.9bn". Montreal News.Net. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
- ↑ Wall Street Journal: Amaya Completes Acquisition of Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker
- ↑ Amaya Makes Final Payment on Rational Group Deferred Purchase Price
- ↑ Amaya Becomes The Stars Group and Completes Toronto Move
- ↑ PokerStars Careers
- ↑ "CEO of online gaming company Amaya faces charges", Toronto Star, March 23, 2016
- ↑ "Amaya CEO David Baazov Takes Indefinite Leave Of Absence Amid Insider Trading Charges", Forbes, March 29, 2016
- ↑ "Amaya CEO David Baazov officially resigns after growing an online gambling giant", Financial Post, August 12, 2016
- ↑ "Baazov folds on $4.1-billion Amaya bid", The Globe and Mail, December 20, 2016
- ↑ Amaya Changes Name to The Stars Group