Light & Wonder delivers a proposal to buy the rest of the SciPlay shares

Light & Wonder, formerly known as Scientific Games Corporation, is a flagship software developer of both physical and digital gaming titles situated in Las Vegas, Nevada. It has recently reported its proposal to buy the rest of the 17% stake in SciPlay Corp, a popular digital gaming firm. The offer submitted by Light & Wonder included the following –

A payment of US$20 to the board at SciPlay for every share with an all-cash contract valued at 4.22 million USD. This is according to a press release submitted on Thursday. 

Additionally, as soon as the deal ends, SciPlay will officially become a subsidiary of Light & Wonder. According to the suitor, in this matter, the transaction will unify the balance sheet and businesses at Light & Wonder, and accelerate the company’s cross-platform strategies, thereby optimizing capital investments. 

The proposal will also imply a staggering enterprise value worth 2.1 billion USD for SciPlay, along with a 28.5% premium based on the stock price of the firm as of May 17. In addition to this, Light & Wonder delivered a letter to the SciPlay board where the president and chief executive of Light & Wonder, Matthew Wilson, stated that the proposed transaction provides public shareholders at SciPlay with a compelling blend of certainty, speed, and value. Furthermore, he mentioned that his firm would not require financing from any third party to fund this deal. Additionally, the company does not expect any requirement of approvals from any regulatory authority or the current shareholders at Light & Wonder. 

A second attempt to purchase remaining shares – 

Currently, Light & Wonder has about 83% of economic interest, along with voting interest accounting for about 98% in SciPlay. With this regard, the CEO of Light & Wonder stated that the firm does not expect to cast a vote in favor of alternative mergers, sales, or any other corporate transactions involving SciPlay. It also does not wish to sell or divest any part of the ownership interest. Nevertheless, a second attempt was made by Light & Wonder to buy the remaining SciPlay shares. 

In December 2021, Light & Wonder removed the all-shares offer to buy 19% (value at that time) remaining stake. In addition to this, being a completely owned subsidiary of the then Scientific Games, SciPlay also operated as a social gaming subsidiary of Scientific Games. However, in 2019, Scientific Games came up with an initial public offering with a minority interest in the company. 

Light & Wonder mentioned on Wednesday that the company received approval from the Australian Securities Exchange, and it projected a net profit worth 27 million USD in the following three months till March 31, compared to the loss witnessed in the previous year, which was worth 67 million USD.