You are here: Home / Archives for assets

IGT Considers Selling Off/Listing PlayDigital and Global Gaming Assets

igt_considers_selling_off_Listing_play_digital_and_global_gaming_assetsCasino equipment maker and digital gaming content provider International Game Technology Plc (IGT) has announced that its board of directors is “evaluating potential strategic alternatives” for the group’s global gaming and PlayDigital segments, “in order to unlock the full value of IGT’s portfolio.”

“IGT’s board of directors is considering a broad range of potential alternatives, including but not limited to a sale, merger or spin-off, as well as retaining and further investing in the global gaming and PlayDigital businesses,” the firm said in a Thursday press release.

Lottery Giant Behind IGT Name

Formerly known as Gtech S.p.A. and Lottomatica S.p.A. until a takeover of Si Red’s Las Vegas, Nevada-based IGT in 2015, the group is a multinational gambling company that produces various gambling technology including slot machines. While the company is headquartered in the UK, it maintains major offices in Rome, Providence, Rhode Island, and Las Vegas, and is controlled, with a 51 percent stake, by De Agostini, an Italian company founded in 1901.

The overall company, which includes the world’s largest lottery supplier by gross receipts, generated over $400 billion in revenues.

IGT’s chief executive, Vince Sadusky, said in a statement that the company remained “focused on the execution <of its> growth objectives and multi-year goals” as outlined in November 2021, and is reviewing and evaluating strategic alternatives for the gaming and digital segments. At that time the company noted its digital and betting businesses were to be included in a potential public listing of assets.

“Regardless of the outcome of this process, IGT is well-positioned to deliver on its long-term growth and profit targets,” noted Sadusky in the Thursday announcement.

Mediobanca, Deutsche Bank, and Macquarie Capital have been brought in as financial advisors in concert with Sidley Austin and White & Case acting as legal counsel for the potential public listing.

Global gaming revenue for the group for the first quarter of 2023 was up more than 21% compared to a year ago at US$389 million. Digital and betting segment revenues stood at $47m one year ago and have risen to $55m. The first three months of the year generated $23m in net profits for shareholders with revenues up nearly 1% and just brushing past $1.06b.

The company would appear to be flush with cash and an increasingly powerful credit profile. From January 1, 2023, to the end of the first quarter, net debt dropped from $5.15b to $5.12b as the company started the year with “significant cash flow generation and further improvement” in its credit profile.

No Decisions Have Been Made

On Thursday, the company noted that “No decision has been made regarding any alternative, there is no timeline for the review and there can be no assurance that the exploration of strategic alternatives will result in any transaction.”

Marco Sala, the executive chair was quoted in the information release: “Over the last three years, IGT has sharpened its strategic focus by reorganizing around core product verticals, monetizing non-core assets, reducing structural costs, and significantly improving its credit profile.”

Sala added: “We believe the intrinsic value of IGT’s market-leading businesses and diversified cash flow profile is not currently reflected in our stock price and the timing is right to assess opportunities that may enhance value for IGT’s shareholders.”

Stock prices were up at the close of trading on Thursday nearly 4% after the announcement at $31.50.

For decades, Gtech/Lottomatica competed and sometimes cooperated with Scientific Games, the other world lottery leader. However, Scientific Games restructured and rebranded itself to Light & Wonder. Major changes included the sale of its lottery business which still retains the Scientific Games name for about $5b and offloaded its sportsbetting business for about $800m. Light and Wonder’s stock price closed more than double that of IGT at $66.97 Thursday.

Source:

IGT mulls possible sale, spin-off of gaming, digital units, GGRAsia, June 9, 2023

The post IGT Considers Selling Off/Listing PlayDigital and Global Gaming Assets appeared first on Casino News Daily.

Filed Under: Gambling News Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Allwyn’s US and UK Acquisition of Camelot Assets Produce 80% Revenue Spike

allwyn-_camelot_assets_produce_80pct_revenue_spikeThe 80% is more specifically 81.4% and represents the sum of €1.58bn even with the company’s[ UK results falling nearly 2% to €1.01bn.

Explaining the rapid jump in numbers, a company statement read: “In Q1 2023, we completed the acquisitions of Camelot UK, the current operator of the UK National Lottery, and Camelot LS Group, the current operator of the Illinois Lottery under a private management agreement. These acquisitions have a significant impact on consolidated metrics of the Group and comparability with previous periods.”

Most Markets Up

Most markets were up for the provider with Italy falling a scant 0.6% while Greece and Cyprus together saw a 14.6% increase to €552.9m, Austria contributing €388.4m, (+19.3%) and home base the Czech Republic producing €125.4m, an increase of 17.2%.

Allwyn CEO, Robert Chvatal commented: “I am pleased to report that Allwyn had a strong start to the year, reflecting our ongoing focus on driving organic growth as well as continued progress in our inorganic growth strategy, with the results of the first quarter including the contribution from a total of seven lottery markets. Meanwhile, we have remained focused on our responsibilities to all our stakeholders and on safer gaming.”

The chief summed up the massive growth in revenues by explaining that 17% came from pre-existing geographic markets as well as first-time contributions from the UK market. The Camelot purchase included not only Camelot UK but also the Camelot LS Group. The latter operates the massive US Illinois lottery under a private management agreement there.

He explained how existing market success was further powered by digital channels as well as physical retail sales and the falling off of some Covid-19 impacts from last year that is no longer affecting current sales.

“We once again saw the resilience of demand for our products, even in an environment where consumer spending remains under pressure. We continued to deliver strong margins and generate robust free cash flow, reflecting our favorable cost structure and focus on cost and capital efficiency. The completion of two landmark acquisitions in the first quarter underscores our continued success in executing our inorganic growth strategy. The acquisition of Camelot UK, the current operator of the UK National Lottery, supports the successful delivery of the National Lottery through 2023 and over the next decade.“

Camelot LS was owned by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board of Canada prior to Allwyn’s acquisition. In early December 2021, the Czech gambling group then known as Sazka Entertainment began to conduct business under the corporate identity of Allwyn for all of its properties assets when named as the “preferred bidder” for the fourth UK National Lottery license.

In a short time, the former Czech Republic-based company (now headquartered in Switzerland) has been operating in new markets globally it has included the US through the Illinois lottery, its first foray into the US lottery landscape once wholly dominated by Scientific Games and GTECH/Lottomatica (now IGT via acquisition).

Chvatal explained the importance of expanding lottery operations into such markets: “<Camelot LS Group provides> interesting strategic optionality through its in-house iLottery technology.”

In financial dealings, he noted: “The continued strength of our financial performance supported our successful financing activities after the end of the quarter, with Allwyn issuing €665m and $700m long-dated bonds in a single transaction. This financing represented our first US-dollar bond issuance, further diversifying our sources of funding, as well as significantly extending our debt maturities and further simplifying our capital structure.”

In closing, Chvatal said he was very pleased with the start to 2023 and said it placed the company well for continued success throughout the rest of the year as well as for “the next chapters of our growth story.”

Source: Allwyn Entertainment reports 80 per cent jump in revenues with addition of Camelot G3 NewsWire, June 15, 2023

The post Allwyn’s US and UK Acquisition of Camelot Assets Produce 80% Revenue Spike appeared first on Casino News Daily.

Filed Under: Gambling News Tagged With: , , , , , ,