Authorities accede NOVOMATIC’s stake in Ainsworth

NOVOMATIC’s stake in Ainsworth has been acceded by the authorities. The deal claims to be a huge Austrian investment and the initial successful registration of an Austrian gaming company in Las Vegas, Nevada.

With All the international regulatory approvals been set-up, it has finally materialised. NOVOMATIC acquired approximately 52 percent of the Australian industry giant Ainsworth Game Technology Limited (AGT). The formal closing which took place on January 5, 2018, was preceded by a series of meticulous audits conducted by various gaming authorities, ranging from Australia to South America and the US. A supreme focus was placed on comprehensive compliance checks that comprised not only NOVOMATIC itself but also the owner, the Supervisory Board and the Executive Board.

 Ainsworth Game Technology Ltd is a publicly listed and globally operating company based in Newington, Sydney, with offices branching out in numerous countries namely  North and South America. It has emerged in the forefront as a leading producer and supplier of high-quality gaming solutions in Australia, Asia and the Americas. The shares were sold by former majority shareholder Len Ainsworth, who for over half a century has been one of the industry’s most respected figures.

The foundation for the acquisition of 52 percent of the shares by NOVOMATIC was already laid at the beginning of 2016. However, at that time the minority shareholders’ consent, as well as the required regulatory and antitrust approvals, were still pending. This hurdle has been overcome in the last two years as part of the most thorough compliance checks. With the granted approvals of the international authorities, NOVOMATIC has now not only achieved another milestone in its corporate history of success but also considerably strengthens its market position in Australia, Asia and the US.

The acquisition is of major strategic importance for NOVOMATIC as it grants the Austrian gaming technology group access to the huge US market. Alongside competitor Aristocrat, Ainsworth is considered the market leader in Australia and ranks among the top 5 gaming companies in the US. Both gaming empires were founded by Len Ainsworth who celebrated his 94th-anniversary last year – Aristocrat in 1956 and Ainsworth in 1995.

With Ainsworth being publicly listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX:AGI), the market has remained supportive of the transaction itself, as reflected in both Ainsworth’s share price and the broad shareholder approval of the NOVOMATIC investment. Upon closing of the shareholding acquisition, Len Ainsworth has resigned as an Executive Director but will maintain an advisory role for another year. NOVOMATIC CEO, Harald Neumann joined the Ainsworth Board of Directors in February 2017 as a Non-Executive Director.

With the deal amounting to the equivalent of around EUR 300 million, NOVOMATIC has crowned its successful expansion course of recent years. The Group has made consistent strategic acquisitions amounting to an annual average of half a billion. “We have made 150 acquisitions since 2009 – on average 20 every year,” said Neumann. So far, the acquisitions were within the range of EUR 20 to 50 million. “With Ainsworth, we have now clearly exceeded the EUR 100 million mark. Growing acquisitions are a direct result of global consolidation in the gaming market,” he explains.

“With the majority acquisition of Ainsworth, we continue our consistent international growth strategy. In addition to increasing our market share in some highly competitive regions, we also clearly focus on the synergetic transfer of know-how, content and high-tech gaming equipment. Among the core competencies of Ainsworth are for example the Jackpot systems. The takeover will add great diversity to our European product portfolio, and it grants Ainsworth access to our huge game library,” continued Neumann. Initial R&D cooperation was already taken up in the course of last year.

Ainsworth Chairman, Graeme Campbell also highlighted the benefits of the deal: “The now finalised NOVOMATIC majority entry is a historically important day for Ainsworth and marks the next step in the company’s development in that we now have a new, international majority partner. This partnership strengthens AGT by providing us with the resources to better compete with our highly regarded gaming technologies and international competition expertise. We appreciate the support of NOVOMATIC and look forward to delivering benefits for all shareholders in the future.”

The declared goal of the cooperation is to jointly design highly competitive products for the US – a market with nearly one million gaming machines in operation. In a first step, Ainsworth products and technologies will diversify the European market. The combined strengths of the NOVOMATIC Americas headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, and the Ainsworth facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, will be the basis for the targeted US market share of 10 percent over the next five years. In this context, NOVOMATIC particularly relies on the Ainsworth sales network, licensing rights for all US federal states, and target group-specific expertise. In addition, this strategic positioning will tap new potentials in South America.

Meanwhile, NOVOMATIC is particularly proud to have excelled all regulatory checks at the end of December 2017. “This makes NOVOMATIC one of the few internationally active companies to have passed such examinations in order to be granted green lights for the acquisition,” added Neumann. A highlight is the successful approval of the transaction by the Nevada gaming authorities. This is the first time for an Austrian company to be registered in the global gaming hub of Nevada.

Neumann confirms: “In the course of this registration all compliance aspects were thoroughly audited – including all parts of NOVOMATIC AG.” The majority acquisition of AGT is also the largest investment to date of an Austrian company in Australia. And it is an investment that significantly increases the gaming technology Group’s stake in the global gaming market. This step – along with others – is intended to make NOVOMATIC the global market leader in the field of high-tech gaming technology in the long-term.