MONTREAL, May 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Amaya Inc.
(Nasdaq: AYA; TSX: AYA) today announced the appointment of
Brian Kyle as Chief Financial
Officer of Amaya, effective June 19,
2017. Mr. Kyle joins Amaya from Pivot Technology Solutions
(TSX: PTG) where he was Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Kyle brings
with him an extensive background in capital markets, financial and
strategic planning, tax, investor relations and risk
management.
"Brian will be a great addition to Amaya's executive team," said
Rafi Ashkenazi, Amaya's Chief Executive Officer. "He brings a
wealth of experience in the capital markets working with technology
companies. We expect Brian to take our finance and investor
relations functions to the next level and deliver great value to
our people, customers and shareholders."
"It is a tremendous opportunity to join Amaya at such an
exciting time in its evolution," said Mr. Kyle. "I'm looking
forward to getting to work and helping the Amaya team navigate the
future."
Mr. Kyle brings more than 25 years of senior financial and
strategic planning experience to Amaya with a proven track record
of building shareholder value and a strong reputation in the U.S.
and Canadian capital markets. Prior to joining Pivot in
August 2016, Mr. Kyle was a partner
and co-founder of ALSA Capital Ltd, a specialized asset management
firm, from August 2014 to August
2016. Prior to ALSA, Mr. Kyle spent five years at TSX-listed
DH Corporation, where he was CFO and helped transform the
organization into a leading financial technology and software as a
service (SAAS) company. At DH, he oversaw six acquisitions,
divested five businesses, streamlined its cost base, as well as
accessed both the U.S. and Canadian capital markets on numerous
occasions for equity and debt offerings. During his tenure,
DH's market capitalization increased by over CDN$2 billion. Prior to this, he held a
number of senior financial positions in leading publicly traded
technology, consumer product and manufacturing companies, including
with Teranet, a provider of integrated land-based information
systems and software services, where he oversaw its CDN$1 billion initial public offering on the TSX,
as well as its subsequent CDN$1.6
billion sale and privatization transaction. Mr. Kyle
has been on a number of advisory boards and is currently a board
member of VersaPay Corporation, a TSX-V listed fintech company, and
Pivot. Mr. Kyle is a member of the Chartered Professional
Accountants of Ontario, holds an
MBA from Queen's University School of Business and has an Honorary
Doctorate in Laws from University of
Windsor.
Mr. Kyle will be based in Toronto and succeed Daniel Sebag, who has served as Amaya's Chief
Financial Officer since 2007 and will assist Mr. Kyle and Amaya in
ensuring an orderly transition of his duties.
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, PokerStars Casino,
BetStars, Full Tilt, StarsDraft, and the PokerStars Championship
and PokerStars Festival live poker tour brands (incorporating
aspects of the European Poker Tour, PokerStars Caribbean Adventure,
Latin American Poker Tour and the Asia Pacific Poker Tour). These
brands have more than 111 million cumulative registered
customers globally and collectively form the largest poker business
in the world, comprising online poker games and tournaments,
sponsored live poker competitions, marketing arrangements for
branded poker rooms in popular casinos in major cities around the
world, and poker programming and content 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, through certain of its subsidiaries,
is licensed or approved to offer, or offers under third party
licenses or approvals, its products and services in various
jurisdictions throughout the world, including in Europe, both within and outside of the
European Union, the Americas and elsewhere. In particular,
PokerStars is the world's most licensed online gaming brand,
holding licenses or related operating approvals in 17
jurisdictions.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements and
Other Information
This news release contains forward-looking statements and
information within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995 and applicable securities laws, including,
without limitation, certain expectations related to the appointment
of Mr. Kyle as the new Chief Financial Officer and the future
performance of Mr. Kyle and Amaya as a result thereof.
Forward-looking statements can, but may not always, be identified
by the use of words such as "anticipate", "plan", "continue",
"estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "could", "might",
"would", "should", "believe", and similar references to future
periods or the negatives of these words and expressions. These
statements 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 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 and estimates, there can be no
assurance that these assumptions or estimates are accurate or that
actual results will not differ materially from those expressed or
implied in forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements
are inherently subject to significant business, regulatory,
economic and competitive risks, uncertainties and contingencies
that could cause actual events to differ materially from those
expressed or implied in such statements. Specific risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, Amaya's appointment
of Mr. Kyle and expectations related to the future performance of
Mr. Kyle and Amaya as a result thereof, and those identified under
the heading "Risk Factors and Uncertainties" in Amaya's Annual
Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2016 and
"Risk Factors and Uncertainties", "Limitations of Key Metrics and
Other Data" and "Key Metrics" in its Management's
Discussion & Analysis for the three months ended
March 31, 2017, 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. Each 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.
The appointment to the position named above may be subject to
gaming or other legal and regulatory approval, in which case the
appointment is not effective until such approval is obtained, if at
all. Amaya may be making this announcement on behalf of an
affiliate or subsidiary and, in such a case, is not the employer of
the individual featured in the announcement.
SOURCE Amaya Inc.