The takeover bid by Austrian gaming equipment supplier Novomatic AG for Australian slot maker Ainsworth Game Technology Ltd failed to meet the target by the closing of the offer on Friday, February 6.
Novomatic in August made an “unconditional” takeover bid of AUD1.00 (US$0.69 currently) per share for the shares that it did not control in Ainsworth.
In a Wednesday announcement, Ainsworth said it had “terminated the transaction implementation deed” linked to the offer, “effective immediately”.
That was because the scheme had “not become effective on or before the end date, and the Novomatic takeover offer has lapsed,” the Australian company stated in a filing to the Australian Securities Exchange.
In a reply to GGRAsia, a Novomatic representative affirmed that the extension of Novomatic’s offer announced on January 30 “was final, and as such, Novomatic’s offer for Ainsworth closed on Friday”.
“Novomatic now holds 67.4 percent of the shares in Ainsworth,” the person added. That fell below the 75-percent threshold needed to take the Australian firm private.
Novomatic controlled 52.9 percent of Ainsworth when the takeover bid was announced.
The Austrian group had said that given the “significance” of its stake in Ainsworth, it intended to “take a more active approach to its investment” in the Australian slot maker, “creating greater alignment between the decision-making process and the overall investment”.
Under Australia’s Corporations Act 2001, Novomatic is restricted from making a new offer for control of Ainsworth for four months.
The takeover had been opposed by a group of minority shareholders, who had argued that the price offered by Novomatic undervalued Ainsworth.
In late October, Ainsworth said it had received a “proportionate offer” from Kjerulf Ainsworth, a son of the company’s founder, for a takeover of “2.9 percent of each shareholder’s shares in Ainsworth”. Mr Ainsworth said he was offering AUD1.30 per share, and his offer ran until January 30.
