With fresh capital and new ownership under Brightstar Capital Partners, AGS is poised to accelerate growth, expand globally, and double down on its reputation for collaborative innovation.
This past July, the manufacturer of gaming products, including slots, and table and online real-money games, completed the acquisition by the private equity firm, Brightstar Capital Partners. For AGS General Manager and Senior Vice President Slots Mark DeDeaux, new ownership means the company can reach its potential.
As one of the few mid-sized suppliers competing against multinational giants, AGS sees its size as a competitive advantage, able to pivot quickly while offering a diverse, high-performing product lineup.
“I think the biggest thing that Brightstar, with the acquisition, is allowing us to do is focus on KPIs (key performance indicators) and metrics and performance related to accelerated, longer-term growth,” says DeDeaux. “We’re still early on in the ownership, but ultimately, as we start to execute and implement our longer-term plan with Brightstar, that’s probably one of the key things that we’re able to do. It’s really a matter of focus and ability to execute.”
AGS’ diverse product offerings are rooted in its history as a Class II slot supplier. The company has diversified its slot offerings over the years to include Class III gaming, both in its core and premium products. AGS has also thrived in the historical horse racing market, table games, and has expanded its online real-money game offerings over the last two years.
“We’re getting into some other categories of games, what we know resonates online,” DeDeaux says. “All of those things have allowed us to continue to grow.”
International markets are also being targeted. DeDeaux envisions AGS making inroads into Mexico, South America (notably Brazil), Asia, and Europe in the near future. He attributes AGS’ success, whether domestically or abroad, to its ability to attract “very smart, experienced, talented, capable people and work in a way that’s highly collaborative.”
“We don’t play a lot of hero ball around here,” DeDeaux adds. “Everybody works in a very collaborative way to achieve whatever those goals are. It’s easy to gain alignment with our product strategies, to optimize what’s best for the business when you have that type of culture.”
DeDeaux credits AGS CEO and President David Lopez with fostering a culture that lends itself to a collective approach to achieving team goals. That makes it easier to adapt.
While AGS’ culture helps, “it’s our nimbleness,” DeDeaux says, that makes entering foreign markets easier.
“When we see opportunities, we don’t have to spend a long cycle gaining alignment,” he says. “This stuff can be hard. It can be hard technically and logistically. What it means is that at the end of the day, you have to assess those market opportunities, determine how they’re beneficial, and how you execute on entering into those markets. Being a more nimble or agile company with a strong culture of collaboration certainly enhances our ability to do those things, because we don’t have to have committees upon committees with decision makers to do that. We’ve gotten very in tune with how we can assess market opportunities and determine the viability for AGS, and then be able to quickly pivot and start executing on those things.”
In addition to “firmly planting our flag” in some international markets over the next year, DeDeaux says AGS will concentrate on increasing business for the company’s interactive offering. And not only internationally, but in the United States, where only seven jurisdictions permit online gambling.
“We are really in early stages of our evolution on the interactive side, and so we believe there are significant opportunities domestically, just within those jurisdictions,” DeDeaux says. “With the expansion of our portfolio, we are enhancing the team both on the R&D and on the commercial side. And I think it’s been noted that we’ve already demonstrated some leadership capabilities in omnichannel product releases.
“We do think that domestically, we have great growth potential and opportunities, and we’ve got the right team and products. … We put ourselves in a position where we can start to really execute on both growth within our domestic markets, and entry and expansion into new markets.”
DeDeaux admits that being a mid-sized supplier can be challenging. The ongoing goal of demonstrating consistent growth is not easy, given that in the past, many mid-sized suppliers have struggled.
“We are very aware of how challenging it is,” DeDeaux says. “We are students of history and understand where others have gone and failed and tripped up, and where others have gone and proven to continue to grow and scale.
“That’s because of the experience we have on our teams. We’re eyes wide open, and we’re very thoughtful about the strategies—whether it’s the products we’re building into the portfolio, how we build them, or how we can leverage them in different ways to work with casino operators. We believe we’re being very thoughtful and very intentional about how we continue to grow and scale the business.”
With Brightstar’s backing, a proven leadership team, and a collaborative culture, AGS is moving with purpose into new markets, aiming not just to compete, but to lead in the next era of gaming.
