Casino Company Aquisitions (May 2023)

All the latest iGaming Acquisitions in May 2023 are covered giving you an overview of which gambling entertainment firms have changed hands! (Photo by Kylie Anderson on Unsplash)

Industry takeovers/acquisitions are always an interesting topic in iGaming news, and May seems to be the season for large iGaming firms on the hunt to expand through major takeovers.

888 Holdings, well-known for its reverse takeover of William Hill Europe, was on the selling side this month after selling its Latvian division to Paf Consulting in a multi-million Euro deal.

Meanwhile, there was also the noteworthy Aristocrat acquisition of NeoGames AB for a staggering AU$ 1.8 billion (EU€ 1.1 billion).

As if that’s enough change for one month already, Light & Wonder is looking to take full control of Sciplay by purchasing the remainder of the company’s shares.

Over on the regulatory side of the industry, there’s also been some takeover action in the air. GLI Group bought out the remaining shares of the renowned regulatory compliance and RNG algorithm testing company iTech Labs.

Want to know more? For more information about the 888 Holdings sale, Aristocrat’s new acquisition, L&W’s attempt for 100% ownership of Sciplay and GLI Groups take over, read on!

888 Holdings Sells Latvian Division to Paf Consulting

Paf Consulting has entered a deal to take over 888 Holding’s Latvian division in a deal worth €28.3 million. The Nordic gaming company currently holds domestic licensing to operate both 888Casino and Mr Green online casino brands in the country.

As per the deal, Paf will continue to do so under a branded agreement but with 100% ownership. In other words, a franchise of sorts. Prior to this deal, Paf owned just 10% of the business.

It has been a topsy-turvy time for 888 Holdings since its reverse takeover of William Hill of which the timing couldn’t have been worse. Soon after gaining control of the WH high street bookies and other land-based retail operations COVID hit. Obviously, financially, this hit company revenues like a ton of bricks. On top of this, the company was hit with a £19.4 million fine by the UKGC and experienced huge drops in its share price.

All that is behind the company now with 888 Holdings Q1 2023 financial figures showing a huge gain from its retail side of the business, and its share price on the London Stock Exchange is beginning to bounce back.

888 Holdings Online Gambling Platforms

Mr Green Casino & Sports
William Hill Casino & Sports
888Casino
888Poker
888Sport
Royal Panda Casino
777 Casino

L&W Looks to Take 100% Ownership of NASDAQ-Listed SciPlay

Light & Wonder already owns 83% of SciPlay from a previous deal and wants to bring 100% of the iGaming company under its wing. L&W offered $20 per share for the remaining 17% in question, however, there has been no firm confirmation that the deal will go through.

The total enterprise value will be US$ 2.1 billion (EU€ 1.95 billion). That’s no small change! The plan is a merger between the two companies thus bringing the SCPL shares into the L&W shares both listed on the NASDAQ. Currently looking at the stock price on the close of the NASDAQ on 17 May 2023, it was at US$ 15.51 and L&W is offering $20.00. The current price at the market close yesterday was US$ 19.61. However, if the US$ 20.00 stands, that’s a 28.5% jump for anyone holding the SCPL stock.

A previous offer from Light & Wonder saw the BOD reject the proposal, so this is the second stab at making SciPlay an L&W company. Maybe this time it will go through. In the meantime, the US$ 19.61 stock price is still available for purchase.

In May 2022 L&W acquired Playzido and just earlier this month on 16 May 2023, I reported on further expansion for the software provider (rebranded from Scientific Gaming) agreeing on a deal to supply land-based slot machines to a South Korean casino venue. You can also read about L&W NASDAQ prices in our iGaming company shares report coming right up after this news piece!

Online Casinos With L&W Games

Light & Wonder SciPlay

Magic Red
William Hill
Casino Buck
LeoVegas

Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) Group Acquires iTech Global

I must admit, I did not see this one coming. Mostly because we follow games and licensing authorities, but sometimes it’s the companies that ensure the games, casino platform software, and random number generators and secure, fair, and safe that get overlooked. Without them, we’d be hard-pushed to say that online casino games offer random results while your gaming experience is protected from cyber-attacks.

iTech Global is a testing company and has long been a competitor of GLI. However, after the latest news report coming via press releases from both brands, iTech Global is now operating under GLI.

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