Scientific Games Corporation drops its interest in acquiring SciPlay Corporation

American land-based and iGaming giant Scientific Games Corporation recently announced that it has decided to abandon its previous quest aimed at acquiring online casino games developer SciPlay Corporation.

The Las Vegas-headquartered company did say so through an official December 22 press release detailing that it had first gone ahead to float an all-stock proposition that was to the tune of $1.9 billion in July. The funds would have been used to procure around 19% of shares in SciPlay Corporation. Scientific Games Corporation further said that the understanding would have made the Nasdaq-listed target its latest wholly-owned subsidiary in order to allow it to expand its presence across the global iGaming scene faster.

Dominant decider

SciPlay Corporation spun off from Scientific Games Corporation in 2019 even though its former parent company still holds a whopping 81% of the enterprise’s shareholding. That’s in addition to another 98% of its associated voting rights. Currently, the developer provides a portfolio of 7 core mobile-friendly online casino gaming sites. They include:

• GoldFish Casino
• Jackpot Party Casino
• Quick Hit Slots
• Hot Shot Casino
• Bingo Showdown
• Monopoly Slots
• 88 Fortunes Slots

Changed attitude

Barry Cottle serves as the President and the Chief Executive Officer of Scientific Games Corporation. During the recent press release, he took the opportunity to explain the earlier proposed takeover would have seen investors in ScePlay Corporation receiving 0.25 of his own firm’s Class-A common stocks for a single share. But his company took a U-turn with Cottle saying that his company wouldn’t be pursuing the intended acquisition anymore since it ‘would not be prudent for our shareholders at this time and only wanted to focus its attention to capital management, disciplined mergers, and acquisitions.

“We remain committed to our strategy of leveraging our unparalleled portfolio of hit franchises, world-class talent, and premium content engine to develop great games fully cross-platform. SciPlay Corporation remains a strategic asset and has the opportunity to drive meaningful value as it grows its social casino market share and expands into the $20 billion casual genres leveraging its expertise in engagement and monetization,” read a statement from Cottle.

Future focus

Surging ahead, Cottle announced that Scientific Games Corporation has some of the best intentions of continuing to invest in both the social and casual games sector, but in a much more disciplined manner. Furthermore, Cottle asserted that his company is committed to taking a comprehensive approach to matters relating to capital management. Scientific Games Corporation now looks to allocate capital aimed at driving growth in earnings per share.

As part of the company’s new outlook, Cottle further stated that the Nevada-based firm is still in its course of completing the $6 billion sales of its global lottery business. The business is expected to be sold to a subordinate of a Canadian financial services giant, Brookfield Asset Management by the end of June while continuing to evaluate other additional opportunities aimed at improving shareholder value. All eyes are now on Cottle to see whether he’ll walk the talk.

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