Scientific Games Chairman Ron Perelman has purchased 330,000 shares in the company worth around US$6.9 million over the past week, increasing his stake to more than 39%.
According to a series of SEC filings, Perelman bought 110,000 shares early last week for a consideration of US$2.2 million before adding another 120,000 shares two days later for US$2.4 million. He then purchased an additional 100,000 shares for US$2.3 million on Monday. As a result, Perelman’s direct and indirect stake in Scientific Games now amounts to a total of 36.64 million shares worth around US$730 million.
Perelman’s most recent purchases, which saw the company’s share price spike by more than 7% on each occasion, comes after he previously purchased 110,000 shares on 17 June and 400,000 shares on 28 December 2018.
Scientific Games recently announced a widened year-on-year loss for 2Q19due to debt financing costs related to a notes offering, despite revenue for the period holding steady.
The company is also engaged in a legal dispute in Nevada with another of its major shareholders, Hong Kong’s Sylebra Holdings, for allegedly refusing to comply with requests for information related to suitability requirements. It has been suggested that Perelman’s recent purchases were specifically designed to boost the price of Scientific Games following declines as a result of the legal action against Sylebra, the company’s third largest shareholder with 8.6 million shares.
