GGRAsia – SciPlay forms committee to assess L&W’s US$422mln bid

SciPlay forms committee to assess L&W’s US$422mln bid

Jun 09, 2023 Newsdesk Industry Talk, Latest News

Digital gaming company SciPlay Corp says its board has formed a special committee of independent directors to “evaluate the non-binding acquisition proposal” from casino equipment and online games provider Light & Wonder Inc.

Light & Wonder announced in May a proposal to acquire the remaining 17 percent equity interest in SciPlay that it does not currently own. The suitor proposes to pay US$20.00 per share of SciPlay, in an all-cash deal valued at US$422 million.

“The special committee has been granted full authority to independently review and evaluate the non-binding proposal that the board received” from Light & Wonder on May 18, said SciPlay in a Thursday announcement.

The special committee is co-chaired by Gerald Cohen and April Henry, and with Michael Marchetti and William Thompson serving as members. The four are members of the board of SciPlay as independent directors.

The committee has retained Lazard Ltd as its financial advisor and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP as its legal counsel in connection with its review and evaluation of the proposed transaction.

“Neither the board nor the special committee has made any decision with respect to the proposed transaction,” stated SciPlay in its Thursday release.

“There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made by Light & Wonder, that adefinitive agreement will be executed … or that this or any other transaction will be approved or consummated,” it added.

Currently, Light & Wonder owns approximately 83 percent of the economic interest and 98 percent of the voting interest in SciPlay, a specialist in so-called “social” online-delivered games.

Matt Wilson, global chief executive of Light & Wonder, said in a recent interview with Australia-based CommSecTV that SciPlay was “an amazing business, growing really fast, above market average”.

Revenue at SciPlay “grew by 18.7 percent in the first quarter versus an industry that was essentially flat, massively outperforming the market,” he said.

Mr Wilson added: “We create these great games for slot machines, then we deploy them into the social gaming space. So, it’s a very efficient use of our research and development investment, and another way for us to monetise the investments that we’ve made.”