Billionaire buyer: Perelman acquires additional shares of Scientific Games in two transactions

Wednesday, September 25, 2019 9:51 AM

Since December, Scientific Games Chairman Ronald Perelman has spent more than $37 million to boost his ownership stake in the Las Vegas-based gaming equipment supplier.

Last week, the billionaire added another 200,000 shares to his total, which now adds up to more than 36.6 million shares, or a 39.3% majority holding.

The two purchases last week – 100,000 shares at $22.41 on Sept. 18 and 100,000 shares at $22.98 on Sept. 20, a total of $4.45 million – were accomplished through Perelman’s New York-based MacAndrews & Forbes investment arm.

A spokesman for Perelman declined comment.

Scientific Games provides gaming equipment to both the casino industry and lotteries worldwide.

Shares of Scientific Games closed at $22.97 Tuesday on the Nasdaq, down 17 cents or 0.73%.

In December, Perelman spent $27 million to purchase 1.5 million shares of the company’s stock over a multiple day buying spree. He spent another $6.1 million on three separate purchases in June.

Analysts have said Perelman’s stock buys seem to center around his long-term confidence in the company.

Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.