Before last week, Scientific Games Chairman Ron Perelman spent more than $37 million to boost his ownership stake in the Las Vegas-based gaming equipment supplier.
So what’s another $3.1 million?
Two additional stock acquisitions – 100,000 shares at $20.83 on September 27 and 50,000 shares at $20.42 – gave the billionaire nearly 36.8 million shares of the company, a more than 39.3% majority holding.
As with previous acquisitions, neither Perelman – whose stock purchases take place through his New York-based MacAndrews & Forbes investment arm – nor Scientific Games had any comment on the transactions. Perelman, 76, ranks No. 63 on the Forbes 400 list of billionaires with a net worth of $8 billion.
Scientific Games provides gaming equipment to both the casino industry and lotteries worldwide.
Meanwhile, the company said Thursday it had been selected by the Florida Lottery to continue to provide instant scratch-off games through 2027, continuing a more than 30-year partnership.
According to La Fleur’s Almanac, the Florida lottery has experienced nine consecutive years of record instant game retail sales and is perennially ranked among the Top 5 lotteries worldwide for instant game per capita sales.
High-performing scratch-off games could generate up to $8.5 billion in funding for the state’s Educational Enhancement Trust Fund during the term of the agreement, Scientific Games said.
Shares of Scientific Games closed at $19.69 Thursday on the Nasdaq, up 18 cents or 0.90%.
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.
