- Upasana Singh, Reuters
Australia’s Aristocrat Leisure on Monday said it will acquire Israel-based online gaming solutions provider NeoGames SA for about $1 billion, leading the target’s shares 120% higher in premarket trading.
U.S. shares of NeoGames were trading at $28.22 before the bell, while Aristocrat ended 2.1% higher at A$39.51.
Aristocrat will pay $29.50 per share to shareholders of the Nasdaq-listed firm for 100% of its shares, representing a premium of about 130% to NeoGames’ last close of $12.84.
The takeover will give Sydney-based Aristocrat entry into the attractive but highly regulated iLottery market, and facilitate further penetration across other online real-money gaming (RMG) verticals, it said in a statement.
“This deal completes the RMG build-and-buy strategy,” analysts at Citi wrote in a note, adding that “while Aristocrat has paid a very significant premium, this deal clearly unlocks a runway to sustained growth.”
