Aristocrat says JKO has until Jan. 5th for firm Playtech offer

Aristocrat said that under U.K. Takeover Panel rules JKO Play has until Jan. 5th to announce whether it plans to make a counter bid for Playtech or walk away.
The deadline is seven days prior to a scheduled Playtech shareholder meeting to discuss a 690 pence per share offer from Aristocrat.
Aristocrat announced its A$5 billion ($3.7 billion) cash offer for the full acquisition of PlayTech plc in early November to enter the fast-growing online real money gaming segment.
Playtech is a leading technology provider for the global gambling industry and one of the largest online gambling software providers in the world.
Aristocrat said it believes the acquisition will accelerate its growth strategy and deliver strategic benefits, including providing material scale in the US$70 billion online RMG (real money games) segment – particularly in North America.
Since then two other potential suiters emerged. A Hong Kong-based firm named Gopher Group and JKO Play. Gopher has since pulled out of the running.