MONTREAL, June 14, 2016 /CNW/ - Amaya Inc. (NASDAQ: AYA;
TSX: AYA) announced today planned changes to the composition of its
board of directors following its upcoming annual meeting of
shareholders.
Amaya has been advised by Paul
McFeeters, who is a proposed nominee for election as a
director of Amaya at its upcoming annual meeting of shareholders,
that for personal reasons unrelated to Amaya he will not be able to
serve as a director and that, assuming he is elected at the
June 28 annual meeting, he will
submit his resignation immediately after the meeting. The
board of directors intends to appoint David
Lazzarato as a director to replace Mr. McFeeters and fill
the vacancy that will result from his resignation.
Mr. Lazzarato, 60, is a media and broadcast industry consultant
who assists companies in the areas of strategy development, mergers
and acquisitions and financing. He has served as a member of the
board of directors and chair of the audit committee of Yellow Pages
Limited (TSX: Y) since December 2012
and was Senior Vice President, Finance at Bell Canada in 2010 and
2011. From 2009 until 2013, Mr. Lazzarato served on the board of
directors and was the chair of the audit committee of LED Roadway
Lighting and from 2004 to 2013, he was vice chair of the Trillium
Health Centre Foundation. In 2008, Mr. Lazzarato was Chief
Executive Officer of Craig Wireless Systems. Prior to joining
Craig Wireless Systems, Mr. Lazzarato served as Executive Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer of Alliance Atlantis
Communications Inc. and Chairman of Motion Picture Distribution
from 2005 to 2007. From 1999 to 2004, Mr. Lazzarato served as
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Allstream
Inc. (formerly, AT&T Canada Inc.) and was Chief Corporate
Officer of MTS Allstream Inc. in 2004. Mr. Lazzarato is past Chair
of the McMaster University Board of
Governors and is the current Chair of the Council of Chairs of
Ontario Universities. Mr. Lazzarato earned a Bachelor of
Commerce degree from McMaster
University and is a Chartered Accountant, having received
the FCA designation from the Ontario Institute of Chartered
Accountants in 2006. Mr. Lazzarato received the ICD.D
certification from the Institute of Corporate Directors in 2008 and
has also completed the Senior Executive Program at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mr. Lazzarato is a
resident of Toronto, Ontario. He
does not hold any Amaya shares.
About Amaya
Amaya is a leading provider of technology-based products and
services in the global gaming and interactive entertainment
industries. Amaya ultimately 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 and its group companies
have 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, certain
expectations related to Mr. McFeeters' ability to serve on the
board of directors and his proposed resignation if elected at the
upcoming annual meeting of shareholders, and Amaya's proposed
changes to its board of directors following the same.
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 and
the board of directors' 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, anticipated and unanticipated events
and trends and regulatory changes that affect Amaya, its customers
and its industries. Although Amaya and management believe the
expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are
reasonable and are based on reasonable assumptions, there can be no
assurance that these assumptions 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, Mr. McFeeters tendering his resignation immediately
following the annual meeting of shareholders as anticipated, Mr.
Lazzarato continuing to be willing at such time to serve as his
replacement, and no intervening events occurring that would cause
the board of directors to reach a different conclusion regarding
the appropriate response to the anticipated vacancy on the board of
directors. Other risks and uncertainties include 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" in its
Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three months ended
March 31, 2016, 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.
SOURCE Amaya Inc.