Novomatic to acquire majority stake in Ainsworth Game Technology

The casino gaming device supply business got a little more concentrated this week after Austria’s Novomatic announced a deal to acquire a majority stake in Australian rival Ainsworth Game Technology (AGT).

The sale came after AGT founder and principal shareholder Len Ainsworth (pictured) decided to sell his 172.1m shares in the company, which amounted to 53% of AGT’s share capital, at a price of $2.75 apiece, for a total consideration of around $473m.

AGT will hold an extraordinary general meeting within the next three months to seek formal approval of the deal. Assuming shareholders and regulators find no reason to block the sale, Ainsworth will stay on with AGT as chairman, and AGT’s existing board and management teams also aren’t going anywhere.

In its H1 earnings report covering the six months ending Dec. 31, 2015, the ASX-listed AGT reported revenue of AU $142m, up 27% year-on-year. AGT has a strong position in Australasia and the Americas, with the latter markets a chief engine of AGT’s growth. North America accounted for $43m of AGT’s H1 revenue and Latin America added $37m, representing year-on-year gains of 42% and 64%, respectively.