GGRAsia – U.S. asset management firm Oaktree acquires Interblock

U.S. asset management firm Oaktree acquires Interblock

Jun 08, 2022 Newsdesk Industry Talk, Latest News, Top of the deck

U.S.-based asset management firm Oaktree Capital Management LP has acquired Slovenian gaming supplier Interblock dd, the two sides announced in a joint press release issued on Tuesday.

Interblock’s “strategic acquisition” by Oaktree was presented as an “investment to further bolster Interblock’s market leadership in the rapidly growing electronic table games market”.

According to Tuesday’s press release, privately-held Interblock will continue to operate as an “independent business”.

The financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Interblock is a specialist in the supply to casinos of fully- and semi-automated electronic table games, and video gaming machines. It has a presence in Asian markets. The firm’s products are also available in other regions worldwide, including North America, Europe and Australia.

The release quoted John Connelly, global chief executive of Interblock, has saying: “We have delivered robust growth over the past six years… There is significant momentum within the electronic table game sector, making it the right time to partner with one of the largest private equity firms in the world – Oaktree.”

He added: “Moving forward, we are excited about our partnership with Oaktree and the ability to further accelerate our momentum, concentrating on both organic growth and potential acquisitions.”

Oaktree has a record of investment in the gaming industry. The asset management firm is a minority investor in the Studio City casino resort in Macau, run by Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd. Last year, Oaktree put forward a proposal to acquire troubled Australian casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd, but the deal did not move ahead.

Tuesday’s release also quoted David Quick, managing director in Oaktree’s special situations group, as saying that Interblock had “significant market leadership in an incredibly fast-growing industry”, and “an attractive financial profile”.

The release identified Oaktree as “a leader among global investment managers specialising in alternative investments, with US$164 billion in assets under management as of March 31.”