Playtech founder to sell 10 pct stake in company

LONDON, March 4 (Reuters) - Online gaming technology group Playtech (LSE: PTEC.L - news) said its founder Teddy Sagi was selling 212 million pounds ($353 million) worth of shares, amounting to 10 percent of the group's equity.

Sagi's Brickington Trading Limited was selling about 29.3 million shares at 725 pence each through a secondary offer, leaving it with a 39 percent stake in the company, Playtech (Frankfurt: PL8.F - news) said.

Prior to the announcement, shares in Playtech, which develops software for betting firms such as Paddy Power (LSE: PAP.L - news) and Betfair, closed up 2.5 percent at 810 pence on Tuesday.

Shares in the group have been trading at highs since it posted a rise in 2013 profits last month and said it would pay a 100 million pound special dividend. They reached a record high of 818 pence last week.

Playtech said the placing, the book for which closes no later than the end of trading on Wednesday, would allow for increased liquidity in the company's stock.

Canaccord Genuity (Other OTC: CCORF - news) , Shore Capital and UBS (Xetra: UB0BL6 - news) are joint book runners on the placing. ($1 = 0.5998 British Pounds) (Reporting by Paul Sandle, editing by Louise Heavens)