GGRAsia – IGT completes US$1.2bln sale of Italian B2C gaming biz

IGT completes US$1.2bln sale of Italian B2C gaming biz

May 11, 2021 Newsdesk Industry Talk, Latest News

Casino game supplier and lottery services firm International Game Technology Plc says it completed on Monday the EUR950-million (US$1.15-billion) sale of a consumer-facing Italian gaming business.

The company said its unit IGT Lottery SpA completed the sale of 100-percent of the share capital of Lottomatica Videolot Rete SpA and Lottomatica Scommesse Srl, the entities running the group’s business-to-consumer (B2C) gaming machine, sports betting, and digital gaming businesses in Italy.

The buyer is Gamenet Group SpA, identified as a subsidiary of funds managed by an affiliate of private equity firm Apollo Global Management Inc.

According to the deal, EUR725 million was payable at closing of the deal; with a further EUR100 million on December 31, 2021; and the remaining EUR125 million payable on September 30, 2022.

IGT will use the funds received at closing, “net of approximately EUR94 million, to pay transaction expenses and reduce debt,” the parent company said in a Tuesday press release.

Brokerage Union Gaming Securities LLC said in a December note – when the deal was announced – that the sale would help in “accelerating debt reduction efforts” for IGT.

IGT was carrying more than US$7 billion in debt as of December 31, 2020, according to its annual results.

In March, IGT reported a net loss attributable to shareholders of just under US$242.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. The company said the net loss for the reporting period included US$155.0 million in foreign exchange losses, primarily non-cash.

The casino supplier announced also that month, the redemption of the group’s 6.250-percent senior secured notes due 2022, including the completion of the sale of US$750-million in 4.125-percent senior notes due 2026.