Casino 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
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