Amaya CEO David Baazov charged with insider trading (3/23), steps down as CEO (3/29/16) - Page 15 - Poker News

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Amaya CEO David Baazov charged with insider trading (3/23), steps down as CEO (3/29/16)

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03-29-2016 , 09:20 AM

#351

sanko33

journeyman

Join Date: Sep 2013 Posts: 359

Quote:

Originally Posted by LektorAJ

As the Germans say: Schadenfreude ist die schönste Freude.

that's all some players have left hahahaha

Quote

03-29-2016 , 09:20 AM

#352

obss

journeyman

Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 348

http://www.amaya.com/press/2016/03/a...eo-00243.shtml

Quote:

AMAYA CHAIRMAN AND CEO, DAVID BAAZOV, TO TAKE VOLUNTARY LEAVE OF ABSENCE; DAVE GADHIA APPOINTED INTERIM CHAIRMAN; RAFI ASHKENAZI APPOINTED INTERIM CEO
March 29, 2016, Montreal – Amaya Inc. (NASDAQ: AYA; TSX: AYA) today announced that Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, David Baazov, is taking an indefinite paid leave of absence from the company, effective yesterday. Mr. Baazov is taking this leave voluntarily to focus on preparing an offer to acquire Amaya and to avoid a distraction for the company while he responds to certain allegations made against him by the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), the securities regulatory authority in Quebec. Mr. Baazov will remain a member of Amaya’s board of directors.

The Board has appointed Divyesh (Dave) Gadhia as Interim Chairman, and Rafi Ashkenazi as Interim CEO. Mr. Gadhia has been an Amaya director since 2010, is the Board’s Lead Independent Director and is Chair of the Special Committee of independent directors established on February 1, 2016 to consider any proposal that may be made by Mr. Baazov, as well as other alternatives that may become available to Amaya. Previously, Mr. Gadhia served as the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice Chairman of Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited from 1992 until 2010, where he was responsible for strategic initiatives, regulatory matters and governmental relations.

Mr. Ashkenazi is currently CEO of the Rational Group, Amaya’s operating business, which includes the PokerStars and Full Tilt brands. Prior to becoming CEO of Rational Group in late-2015, Mr. Ashkenazi, an experienced gaming industry executive, served as Senior Vice President of Strategy for Amaya during 2015 and as Chief Operating Officer of Rational Group from January 2013 until early 2015, responsible for all customer-facing product and back-office functions for PokerStars and Full Tilt, including marketing, customer support, poker room management, IT management, payment processing and security, and game integrity. Prior to joining the Rational Group, Mr. Ashkenazi was Chief Operating Officer of Playtech, a global gaming software company.

AMF Update

On March 23, 2016, Amaya announced that the AMF had charged Mr. Baazov with aiding with trades while in possession of privileged information, influencing or attempting to influence the market price of securities of Amaya and communicating privileged information.

Subsequent to that announcement, the Board became aware of a decision of the Bureau de Decision et de Revision, the administrative tribunal in Quebec that hears certain AMF applications, which discloses additional AMF investigations into the alleged conduct of Mr. Baazov and others which are beyond the scope of the charges and of the internal investigation referred to in Amaya’s March 23rd announcement. While none of these allegations have been proven, the Board takes them seriously and has expanded the mandate of the Special Committee to investigate these additional matters.

Special Committee Update

Mr. Baazov has recently advised Amaya that he continues to intend to make an offer to acquire the company. Earlier this month, Amaya entered into an agreement with Mr. Baazov setting out the terms upon which he and his prospective co-investors and financiers may have access to certain confidential information about the company in connection with his intended offer. To date, Amaya has not received an offer from Mr. Baazov.

As previously announced, the Special Committee has a broad mandate to consider any proposal that may be made by Mr. Baazov, as well as other alternatives that may become available to Amaya. In this regard, the Special Committee had, prior to the charges being brought by the AMF against Mr. Baazov, instructed its financial advisor, Barclays Capital Canada Inc., to begin contacting other parties who might be interested in a transaction involving Amaya. The Special Committee is in the midst of negotiating agreements with certain of these parties with respect to the terms upon which they may have access to confidential information regarding the company.

As previously announced, the Special Committee has also retained Moelis & Company as a valuator to prepare a formal valuation of Amaya’s securities as required under applicable Canadian securities laws in the event that Amaya enters into a sale transaction with Mr. Baazov. Such valuation would be included in any information circular distributed to shareholders in connection with an offer, if any, from Mr. Baazov.

The Special Committee has not made a determination as to whether a sale of Amaya is in the best interests of the company at this time. The Special Committee will consider any offer made by Mr. Baazov and any expressions of interests made by third parties if and when any such offers or expressions of interest are made. The Special Committee will also continue its review of alternatives available to Amaya, including continuing to implement its current business plan as a publicly-traded company.

Statement from Mr. Baazov

Mr Baazov provided the following statement: "As always, I continue to be dedicated to doing the right thing for Amaya and all its stakeholders. I believe that stepping down in the short term will help to avoid distraction for the company and its management while I vigorously contest all allegations made against me and pursue my bid to acquire the company.”

About Amaya

Amaya is a leading provider of technology-based products and services in the global gaming and interactive entertainment industries. Amaya owns gaming and related consumer businesses and brands including PokerStars, Full Tilt, BetStars, StarsDraft, the European Poker Tour, PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Latin American Poker Tour and the Asia Pacific Poker Tour. These brands have more than 100 million cumulative registered customers globally and collectively form the largest poker business in the world, comprising online poker games and tournaments, live poker competitions, branded poker rooms in popular casinos in major cities around the world, and poker programming created for television and online audiences. Amaya, through certain of these brands, also offers non-poker gaming products, including casino, sportsbook and daily fantasy sports. Amaya has various gaming and gaming-related licenses or approvals throughout the world, including from the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Spain, Estonia, Belgium, Denmark, Bulgaria, Greece, Ireland, Romania, the Isle of Man, Malta, the State of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario in Canada, and the State of New Jersey in the United States.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable securities laws, including, without limitation, the intentions of Amaya's Chief Executive Officer, certain potential future transactions and certain expectations and projections related to legal proceedings. Forward-looking statements can, but may not always, be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "propose", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intend", "could", "might", "would", "should", "believe", "objective", "ongoing" and similar references to future periods or the negatives of these words and expressions and by the fact that these statements do not relate strictly to historical or current matters. These statements, other than statements of historical fact, are based on management's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, including market and economic conditions, business prospects or opportunities, future plans and strategies, projections, technological developments, anticipated events and trends and regulatory changes that affect us, our customers and our industries. Although Amaya and management believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable and are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates, there can be no assurance that these assumptions or estimates are accurate or that any of these expectations will prove accurate. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive risks, uncertainties and contingencies that could cause actual events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those identified under the heading "Risk Factors and Uncertainties" in Amaya's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2015 and "Risk Factors and Uncertainties" and "Limitations of Key Metrics and Other Data" in its Management's Discussion and Analysis for the periods ended December 31, 2015, each available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, EDGAR at www.sec.gov and Amaya's website at www.amaya.com, and in other filings that Amaya has made and may make with applicable securities authorities in the future. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date hereof, and Amaya undertakes no obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

For further information:

For investor relations, please contact: Tim Foran, Tel: +1.416.545.1325, ir@amaya.com

For media inquiries, please contact: Eric Hollreiser, Press@amaya.com

Last edited by Videopro; 03-29-2016 at 10:37 AM.

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03-29-2016 , 09:50 AM

#353

ZachL

veteran

Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 3,058

Innocent imo

Quote

03-29-2016 , 10:31 AM

#354

slr940

centurion

Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 104

THIS is what I wanted to happen. David Baazov became a distraction for Amaya. The company was on the road to becoming toxic due to his unbridled ambition/greed.

I purchased tens of thousands of Amaya shares today for the long haul. Now that David is out, I think the company will batten down the hatches and execute.

Quote

03-29-2016 , 10:33 AM

#355

MicroRoller

veteran

Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 2,533

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uhrenknecht

I read somewhere that this is the biggest insider case in canada so far, is this true?

Not sure how someone on here can confirm if you read it or not but I don't see why you would lie about it.

Gen. Wesley Clark sure is on a whole lot of boards. Didn't realize he was on Amaya's board.

Quote

03-29-2016 , 11:25 AM

#356

Contemplater

banned

Join Date: Nov 2015 Posts: 494

Quote:

Originally Posted by trashy123

May he rott in hell.

+1

If hell would exist, he'd go there without Vaseline, rest as-****ing-sured!

Quote

03-29-2016 , 11:30 AM

#357

PTLou

JellyBean

Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 5,516

LOLZ from timex

Mike McDonald ‎@MikeMcDonald89
Big congrats to @davidbaazov for following @Kanupoker and @ikepoker's lead and leaving Poker Stars
10:59 AM - 29 Mar 2016

Quote

03-29-2016 , 12:15 PM

#358

JudgeHoldem1848

banned

Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 2,474

Quote:

Originally Posted by slr940

Or be execute.

Quote

03-29-2016 , 12:22 PM

#359

poorme

grinder

Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 506

so he gets a long paid vacation as a reward for being charged with insider trading

Quote

03-29-2016 , 12:40 PM

#360

pocket_zeros

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 5,061

Only a company with horrible corporate governance would allow their CEO to take a paid leave of absence after being accused of insider trading of the company's own shares.

Quote

03-29-2016 , 01:51 PM

#361

Krataman

enthusiast

Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 97

Quote:

Originally Posted by walkby

PokerStars is a ****ing tragedy, I can't believe how quickly these clowns ruined it. The stupidity surrounding everything is unreal. If this guy is guilty holy **** what an idiot, he acquired one of the biggest cash cows of all time and wasn't patient enough to get the millions coming to him legally. It's like out chipping someone 1000:1 after an all in and then deciding to super-use the last pot. If you're guilty Baazov you deserve everything coming to you.

its not stupidity. it is GREED

Quote

03-29-2016 , 02:13 PM

#362

hublot

centurion

Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 194

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArtyMcFly

Pokernews is owned by IBUS Media, the company formed by Tony G. It has an office near Rational's HQ on the IoM, but it's not owned by Amaya/Stars.

Tony G no longer owner... is owned by Stars 100%, maybe not black/white (thru shell company etc), but PS owns the site and has for a cpl years now.

Quote

03-29-2016 , 03:05 PM

#363

Max Cut

Guest

Posts: n/a

Quote:

Originally Posted by PTLou

LOLZ from timex

Mike McDonald ‎@MikeMcDonald89
Big congrats to @davidbaazov for following @Kanupoker and @ikepoker's lead and leaving Poker Stars
10:59 AM - 29 Mar 2016

Gold.

Quote

03-29-2016 , 03:20 PM

#364

quarantined

grinder

Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 644

Quote:

Originally Posted by PTLou

LOLZ from timex

Mike McDonald ‎@MikeMcDonald89
Big congrats to @davidbaazov for following @Kanupoker and @ikepoker's lead and leaving Poker Stars
10:59 AM - 29 Mar 2016

POTY

Quote

03-29-2016 , 03:42 PM

#365

MicroRoller

veteran

Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 2,533

Quote:

Originally Posted by Krataman

its not stupidity. it is GREED

It was greed when they were allegedly doing this prior to purchasing PokerStars when Amaya wasn't profitable. It's stupidity to allegedly do it after buying a company that was pulling in more money then they'd ever seen in their lives.

Quote

03-29-2016 , 04:35 PM

#366

coon74

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 10,684

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amaya

Amaya Inc. (NASDAQ: AYA; TSX: AYA) today announced that Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, David Baazov, is taking an indefinite paid leave of absence from the company, effective yesterday.

That's where our rake is going...

Quote

03-29-2016 , 04:39 PM

#367

wheatrich

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 21,447

Anyone else wish they got paid to not do their job anymore? Must be nice to be a CEO, get paid if you're good, get paid if you royally screw up, doesn't matter how smart or how good you are at your job.

Stock went up 14% today for some reason---I guess people don't realize the next people in line are the same as ones who support him and gave him the nice cushy vacation pay. (sidenote, I will NEVER understand paid leave outside of corruption, either they work and get paid or nope (I'm sure there's a few situations people would argue but this one is absurd))

Quote

03-29-2016 , 04:46 PM

#368

CleanoutKid

adept

Join Date: Feb 2015 Posts: 1,109

I'm glad I got my BR the **** outta there back in January

Unibet>>>

Quote

03-29-2016 , 05:12 PM

#369

TrustySam

journeygirl

Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 3,198

Quote:

Originally Posted by oracle3001

Quote:

leave of absence in order to focus on his project to take the company private

LOL....Amaya PR department

For people who have a way with words, would seem like there must be way easier ways to earn a living, than to work for a company that's always doing shady stuff to their customers ... and now the company's CEO is even being accused of being a *criminal*!

(eg. Humane Society - 'look at the cute bunny! Please help him by sending him $' ... Sam can't resist )

Anyways ... so much more coverage of Amaya/Baazov's legal troubles than FT/Lederer - makes it easier to keep up to date with things. Will be interesting to hear more about what D. Baazov is alleged to have done or not done ...

PS. So pretty out - hope everybody's having a nice day!

Quote

03-29-2016 , 05:27 PM

#370

SantaCruz

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 4,161

Why do all the photos of David Baazov look like a product computer graphics?

Quote

03-29-2016 , 05:38 PM

#371

highhustla

veteran

Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 2,201

Quote:

Originally Posted by pocket_zeros

Only a company with horrible corporate governance would allow their CEO to take a paid leave of absence after being accused of insider trading of the company's own shares.

Seriously. **** all of these guys.

Quote

03-29-2016 , 05:51 PM

#372

Nash_equilibria

veteran

Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 2,663

A class action lawsuit has already been filed!
Players & shareholders strike back against the Empire! This is the beginning of the end for Amaya.

Quote

03-29-2016 , 05:59 PM

#373

solody

journeyman

Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 239

In before a rake increase to cover the costs to fight the class action.

Quote

03-29-2016 , 06:14 PM

#374

Sect7G

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 11,234

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nash_equilibria

A class action lawsuit has already been filed!
Players & shareholders strike back against the Empire! This is the beginning of the end for Amaya.

I believe this to be true and I wouldn't recommend anyone holding any stocks until these messes get resolved. At anytime the bottom could fall out of this house of cards. The tides have turned against Amaya and I wouldn't be shocked to see a few more skeletons pop out of the Amaya closet in the coming weeks/months. A suggestion for one might be the lenders might start taking some heat for giving this speculative loan. All it takes is one to cut a deal for himself and speak out about getting a crooked kickback in exchange for doing the favour and Amaya will be in an even bigger mess.

I'd be shocked if Amaya still owns Pstars 1 year from today.

Quote

03-29-2016 , 06:56 PM

#375

solody

journeyman

Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 239

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sect7G

I'd be shocked if Amaya still owns Pstars 1 year from today.

Really ?

Then I have a dream.. Guy Laliberté sold most of his Cirque du Soleil shares last year for $1.5 billion so he's got the cash, loves poker, is from Quebec as well (I guess Quebec would like the company to stay there) and I dont think he would have any interest into screwing his customers for a little more profit.

Plus I guess he's got political connexions in Canada and the U.S. and many more countries.. oh and he just got inducted into the Internet Pokers Wall of Fame.

Spoiler:

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