Playtech seeks court clarification on service fee dispute with Caliente Interactive

Playtech has turned to English courts to seek clarification on “a point of disagreement” related to Caliplay, its joint venture with Mexico-based operator Caliente Interactive.

The London-listed supplier described Caliplay as “a highly valued customer” and “a highly successful and rapidly growing business”.

However, the two parties disagree over whether Caliplay still has an option to redeem an additional services fee that was included in a prior strategic agreement between the companies.

Under the initial agreement, the option was stated as being exercisable for a period of 45 days following the approval of the audited accounts of Caliplay for the year ended 31 December 2021.

Playtech said it believes the option has expired and previously referred to its expiry in its interim report for H1 2022.

While Caliplay has not sought to exercise the option to date, Playtech said the company has made it clear that it does not consider the option as expired.

The option was structured in such a way that the services fee would either be agreed upon by both parties, or failing that, determined by an independent investment bank.

The bank would value the fee based on Playtech’s current entitlement to receive additional services fees until December 2034.

For the six months ended 30 June 2022, Playtech said the amount of those service fees was €34.4m.

Playtech is now seeking a declaration from English courts to determine whether or not the option has, in fact, expired.

In August, Playtech scrapped plans to publicly list Caliplay due to the rising cost of capital.

According to Playtech’s H1 2022 results, Caliente has grown to become the supplier’s largest customer, with B2B revenue from the Americas reaching €69.8m in H1 2021, up 37% year-on-year.