Scientific Games becomes Light & Wonder

For Scientific Games, now read Light & Wonder – the giant gambling products supply company has rebranded to reflect a transformation to a cross-platform global game company.

The company will now de-lever and is targeting net debt, authorising a $750m share repurchase programme. It will divest itself of its lottery interests this month, raising $5bn in cash, and will close on its sale of its sports betting interests in the second quarter of the current year.

Said Jamie Odell, executive chair: “From the outset we recognised the enormous opportunity to drive increased shareholder value through restructuring the balance sheet, redefining the portfolio and becoming a sustainable growth company.

“We are already seeing the early stages of the strategy successfully executed and with the announced divestitures, the company will immediately shift from a debt to an equity story and achieve gearing significantly below the levels we underwrote in our investment thesis.”