Plus500 stake increased by Odey to 21% as shares fall post FCA rules announcement

It looks like Odey Asset Management isn’t afraid of the new FCA rules governing CFD trading.

LeapRate has learned via regulatory filings that UK investment manager Odey Asset Management LLP was busy buying Plus500 Ltd (LON:PLUS) yesterday, as Plus500 shares were plummeting.

Odey built its overall stake in Plus500 up to 21.28%, from just under 20% prior, for a total purchase of about 1.6 million Plus500 shares.

Odey has long been a major shareholder of Plus500, last year opposing the company’s sale for £4 per share (or a total of about $700 million) to Playtech PLC (LON:PTEC). That deal was eventually approved by shareholders on both sides as well as regulators in Australia and Cyprus, but was nixed by the FCA by withholding its approval of the deal.

Shares of Plus500 traded down by 28% yesterday, after the FCA revealed new rules for Forex and CFD brokers – mainly, the banning of bonus inducement payments to retail traders and limiting leverage on CFD trades to 50x. Shares of other leading FCA regulated online brokers were down even more, with IG Group Holdings plc (LON:IGG) and CMC Markets Plc (LON:CMCX) each down 38% on the day.

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