GOODS & SERVICES
PlayAGS REJECTS INSPIRED ’ S $ 370 MILLION OFFER
Gaming supplier PlayAGS has rejected a takeover offer from game developer Inspired Entertainment . The deal would have cost Inspired $ 370 million , or $ 10 per share in cash . The offer was first reported by Reuters .
PlayAGS ’ David Lopez
Inspired Entertainment ’ s Lorne Weil
Although the offer was rejected , PlayAGS emphasized that it was only that specific offer that was rejected , and the company would remain in negotiations with Inspired . In a statement released by PlayAGS , the management and board noted they would do everything possible to create shareholder value and would listen to any and all offers .
Immediately after news of the offer broke August 12 , PlayAGS shares soared 31 percent to $ 7.88 , up from the previous day ’ s closing price of $ 6 . Alternatively , Inspired share price declined almost 6 percent to $ 12.56 . Last week , PlayAGS was trading around $ 8.10 and Inspired at $ 11.56 .
Nevada-based PlayAGS , which first went public back in 2018 , is backed by investment firm Apollo Global Management , which also operates the Venetian in Las Vegas . Due to Covid-related impacts , the company is worth just 20 percent of its 2019 market value , but is steadily climbing back , having reported $ 76.6 million in secondquarter earnings . PlayAGS products include slot games , innovative table games and other gaming solutions .
PlayAGS is led by CEO David Lopez and has a market cap of $ 279.34 million .
Inspired , which is based in New York , has a market value of approximately $ 400 million , providing gaming solutions in over 30 jurisdictions . Its main products are virtual sports games and mobile gaming . It recently reported $ 71.3 million in quarterly revenue .
Inspired Entertainment is led by CEO Lorne Weil , a former CEO at Scientific Games . The company has a market cap of $ 337.75 million .
During an earnings call on August 10 , Inspired CFO Stewart Baker had alluded to potential
Indian Gaming Revenue Breaks Record
The revenue from Indian casinos in the U . S . jumped 40 percent in FY 2021 from the previous year , reaching a record high of $ 39 billion . Of course , 2020 was the first year of Covid , but the 2021 revenues were also a 13 percent increase compared to FY 2019 . That is the highest in Indian gaming history .
The revenues for FY 2021 were compiled from independently audited statements of 510 casinos owned by 243 federally recognized gaming tribes across 29 states .
It was a year where the greatest increase in revenue followed the year of its greatest decrease , which had been created by the pandemic forcing the closure of nearly all casinos nationwide for weeks or months .
National Indian Gaming Commission ( NIGC ) Chairman E . Sequoyah Simermeyer and Vice Chair Jeannie Hovland made the record announcement live on August 10 at the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association Tradeshow and Conference ( OIGA ) in Tulsa .
Simermeyer declared , “ NIGC recognizes this year ’ s rebound has not been felt equally by all tribes . We are committed to helping all tribal operations benefit from the regulatory lessons learned over the past two years .” The chairman added , “ As we seek to build the regulatory workforce ’ s preparedness , all parts of the Indian gaming industry have a responsibility to learn from the experiences of tribes who have forged the path so we preserve those lessons and ensure we retain that knowledge for generations to come .”
Hovland added , “ The industry has much to celebrate and be proud of . With 43 gaming operations reporting GGR greater than $ 250 million and accounting for more than 50 percent of total revenues , this year ’ s revenues underscore the wide diversity in gaming operations across Indian Country .”
According to a press release from NIGC : “ With the pandemic still at the top of mind for tribes , Indian gaming continues to show its resiliency through innovative operational advancements and the steadfast leadership of tribal regulatory authorities .”
growth possibilities for the company . “ We are certainly willing to use capital for M & A if it ’ s something that strategically fits with what we are trying to do ,” said Baker . “ And there seem to be a lot of things around right now presenting themselves as possibilities .”
PENN NATIONAL REBRANDS AS PENN ENTERTAINMENT
Penn National Gaming announced that it has changed its name to Penn Entertainment , after announcing mixed results for the second quarter . The company ’ s name change is meant to reflect the expansion of Penn ’ s business to include diverse
sports betting , media assets and other changes .
“ Today is an exciting day for us as we become Penn Entertainment , Inc .,” said Jay Snowden , the company ’ s president and CEO . “ Over the past few years , Penn has transformed our business through a highly differentiated strategy focused on organic cross-sell opportunities , which is reinforced by our investments in market-leading retail casinos , sports media assets , owned technology , including a state-ofthe-art , fully integrated digital sports and online casino betting platform , and an in-house iCasino content studio .
“ Our new name maintains ties to our legacy while better reflecting our evolution into North America ’ s leading provider of integrated entertainment , sports content and casino gaming experiences .”
The announcement came as Penn revealed second-quarter results showing an 87 percent drop in net income year-over-year —$ 26.1 million , compared to $ 198.7 million for the same quarter a year ago . Those results reflect a $ 167 million share repurchase for the quarter , and as Snowden noted , net revenue of $ 1.6 billion , up 5.2 percent from the same quarter last year .
“ Last month , we successfully transitioned theScore Bet in Ontario to our own fully integrated , proprietary tech stack — reflecting a key achievement in our strategic roadmap . Our strong operating performance and balance sheet enabled us to opportunistically repurchase $ 167 million of stock in the quarter under our $ 750 million share repurchase authorization . Based on our second-quarter performance and our outlook for the remainder of the year , we are reiterating our 2022 revenue and adjusted EBITDAR guidance range of $ 6.15 billion to $ 6.55
60 Global Gaming Business SEPTEMBER 2022