Aristocrat Leisure Limited lodges Playtech takeover offer

Australian gaming machines innovator Aristocrat Leisure Limited has reportedly floated a proposition worth in the region of $3.7 billion that would see it purchase British online casino games developer Playtech.

According to a report from Business News Australia, the takeover offer has already been accepted by the board of Playtech but will not become a reality unless it is now approved by at least 75% of the target’s shareholders. The company purportedly explained that the proposal values the software giant at around $2.9 billion on a fully diluted basis and would oblige it to pay about $9.33 for every one of the London-listed behemoth’s outstanding shares.

Fundamental funding:

Aristocrat Leisure Limited is reportedly attempting to build up its global portfolio of real-money online gaming products and intends to finance the envisioned takeover of Playtech by utilizing some $814.7 million in existing cash alongside a $2 billion loan. The Sydney-listed developer would purportedly moreover look to raise up to an additional $962.5 million to complete the deal by means of an ‘entitlement offer’ for its own shareholders.

Omnipotent operation:

Established in 1999, Playtech reportedly develops and distributes online casino software, games and services for 170 licensees in 30 jurisdictions around the globe. The Isle of Man-based enterprise purportedly has some 7,000 employees located at offices in 24 nations with its products covering every key iGaming vertical including sportsbetting, bingo and poker.

Backer benefits:

Aristocrat Leisure Limited used its own official press release to disclose that the linked ‘entitlement offer’ is set to allow its own existing investors to buy even more shares at an individual price of $31.10, which equates to an around 8.3% discount when compared with their Friday closing price of $33.95. However, it asserted that for the compensation for the Playtech shares represents an about 58.4% premium with the takeover potentially due to become a reality as soon as ‘the second quarter of 2022.’

Assorted advantages:

Trevor Croker (pictured) serves as the Chief Executive Officer for Aristocrat Leisure Limited, which recorded a net profit of $269 million for the six months to the end of March, and he proclaimed that the proposed takeover would allow his firm to combine its own ‘world-class gaming content, customer and regulatory relationships’ with the real-money business-to-business online gaming platform and European business-to-consumer footprint of Playtech. He went on to note that such an enlarged company would be able to offer ‘a broad portfolio of end-to-end solutions for gaming customers around the world’ in addition to ‘seamless player experiences’ that were ‘underpinned by a shared focus on responsible gameplay and innovation.’

Read a statement from Croker…

“The business would be ideally positioned to unlock sustainable shareholder value by seizing opportunities in the fast-growing global online real-money gaming segment as they continue to open up, particularly in North America. The proposed acquisition continues our approach of investing in medium to long-term growth and we are extremely excited by the opportunities that this will bring for our shareholders, people, customers and players.”