Scientific Games Corp, a specialist in casino and lottery equipment and management, announced on Wednesday that the acquisition of Canada-listed sports betting firm NYX Gaming Group Ltd has been approved “by an overwhelming vote of NYX shareholders”. The company said the acquisition had been approved by more than 99 percent of NYX Gaming shareholders.
Scientific Games said the acquisition is scheduled to close on January 5, 2018, “subject to certain closing conditions”.
“We are thrilled by the strong support from NYX shareholders and we are very excited about our combined companies’ future growth potential,” said Scientific Games chief executive and president, Kevin Sheehan, in a statement included in Wednesday’s press release.
He added: “By bringing together Scientific Games and NYX, we will create a world leader in digital gaming and sports betting, a company with an unrivalled, end-to-end product portfolio and an innovative driving force in the industry”.
Commenting on the deal, NYX Gaming CEO Matt Davey said the acquisition would be “a win-win for both companies and collective shareholders”.
In September, Scientific Games said it wanted to expand its existing digital gaming and online gambling portfolio by acquiring NYX Gaming for approximately CAD775 million (US$604.3 million), including debt. Since then, the casino equipment supplier already acquired a stake – in two separate exercises – of approximately 36.01 percent of NYX Gaming’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares, for a total consideration of approximately CAD114.8 million.
