Aristocrat to acquire NeoGames in $1.2bn move

Aristocrat Leisure Limited, the Australian gaming giant, has made a $1.2bn offer to NeoGames S.A., a gaming platform provider operating out of Luxembourg, which has been accepted, the firm said. The news was confirmed as part of an ASX filing that Aristocrat submitted as part of its company updates and obligations to disclose information about mergers and acquisitions. The agreement, although inked, would still require NeoGames shareholder approval, before the deal can be finally cleared.

The Board of Directors at NeoGames has already recommended the move, and the owners of 61% of the company’s outstanding shares have agreed to the deal. The values are in US dollars. Aristocrat has been long looking to scale beyond the land-based sector, taking strides into the iGaming market and continuously looking to expand.

The company describes this as an online real money gaming strategy, and it has been interested in increasing its influence in key regulated markets, such as Europe, the Rest of the World, and not least, North America, where iGaming is only getting its legs stretched. The company already owns Anaxi, which is a provider of online gaming solutions.

Commenting on the opportunity to grow this RMG segment, Aristocrat CEO and Managing Director Trevor Croker said that he was happy to see NeoGames joining the company’s umbrella and helping it scale its presence in the constantly-expanding online iGaming market. He added:

"Through the acquisition of NeoGames and its industry-leading global online RMG platform, this transaction will deliver on our strategy by providing a portfolio of end-to-end solutions for iGaming, iLottery and Online Sports Betting operators globally."

Croker hailed the addition of a prominent online gaming arm and developer, seeing great opportunities and synergies that would solidify Aristocrat’s evolving approach towards iGaming and the gaming market in general. NeoGames is definitely a great pick.

The company operates in more than 50 regulated markets, it has 200 customers at the very least, and it has a staff of at least 1,100 people. NeoGames is an expert in solutions such as iLottery, iGaming and even online sports betting, which means that Aristocrat is looking at a serious boost in its own production and business capabilities.

The acquisition is to be funded with cash on hand, pointing out to the robust financial profile that Aristocrat has these days. Aristocrat has been methodically scaling its offer in the online gaming segment, with a recent acquisition of Roxor Gaming in February 2023. The company also placed a $965m bid for Playtech, which came short. With plenty of money on its hands, Aristocrat’s acquisition of NeoGames may not be the last one to follow.

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