NASDAQ is no place for the faint of heart. But online gambling company Amaya is apparently up for the challenge of being listed on the exchange.
“Our listing on the Nasdaq is an important milestone for Amaya and a testament to the tremendous progress we have made over our five years as a public company,” said Amaya’s Chairman and CEO, David Baazov, upon news of the company gaining approval for listing.
“We anticipate that the Nasdaq listing will provide greater visibility and better liquidity for our stock and help broaden our shareholder base,” Baazov added.
Unfortunately, clouding what otherwise would be a joyous time for the company in its transition to public life on NASDAQ, Quebec’s Autorité des marchés financiers took much of the spotlight off of Amaya’s Wall Street presence in recent days. The reason? According to GGB News, Baazov and CFO Daniel Sebag are reportedly under investigation for “possibly violating Canadian gaming law in completing the $4.9 billion acquisition of the parent company of iGaming giant PokerStars.”
In December 2014, the AMF used search warrants to visit a number of Amaya Gaming’s offices including the Canaccord Genuity and Manulife Financial and the company’s headquarters in Montreal, Canada but reportedly did not find any conclusive evidence against Amaya.
“Amaya has always been confident that it would be cleared of any wrongdoing,” Eilers Research gaming analyst Adam Krejcik is quoted in the report. “Gaining a listing on a major exchange like the NASDAQ sends a message to investors. On a level, it signals that things are OK on the regulatory front.”
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