Austrian gaming giant Novomatic has confirmed the completion of its AU$500 million purchase of a 52% stake in Australian slot machine company Ainsworth Game Technology Limited.
In an overnight press release, Novomatic said the acquisition of 172.1 million ordinary shares was completed last Friday 5 January 2018 with all international regulatory confirmations now in place. The drawn out process, almost two years in the making, involved gaining regulatory approval from multiple gaming jurisdictions including in Australia, South America and the United States, it said.
Completion of the sale saw founder Len Ainsworth step down as an Executive Director of Ainsworth Game Technology Limited effective immediately, although he will continue to support the company as a consultant for a period of 12 months.
Novomatic Chairman Harold Neumann said that the Austrian conglomerate was now one of the few European Union based companies to have passed strict compliance checks from international authorities and the first Austrian company to receive regulatory approval in Las Vegas.
“The compliance investigations carried out as part of this registration were extremely thorough. They included all corporate divisions of Novomatic AG,” he said.
“Our shares in Ainsworth are strategically very important for Novomatic. After all, the joint plan is to increase market share in the US to about 10% over the next five years. In the long-term, Novomatic may become the world market leader in the area of gaming.”
In a filing to the Australian Securities Exchange, Ainsworth Chairman Graeme Campbell said, “This is an historic and important day for AGT, marking the next stage in our development. We have a new, international, industry leading majority partner in Novomatic.
“As shareholders recognized in voting in favor of the transaction, this partnership strengthens AGT, providing us with the resources and support to leverage our highly regarded gaming technology and expertize to more effectively compete in the world’s gaming markets. We appreciate Novomatic’s support and look forward to working closely with them to deliver the benefits of the partnership for all shareholders.”
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