Global Cash Access (GCA) has taken over Multimedia Games in a $1.2 billion deal (€980 million) after the buyout was approved by Nevada Gaming Commission.
The cash handling solutions and business intelligence services provider earned the approval of gaming devices developer Multimedia Games’ shareholders earlier this month with an offer of $36.50 per share, while Nevada’s Gaming Control Board unanimously recommended approval of the deal following a hearing in Carson City on December 4.
GCA, which provides casinos with ATMs, point-of-sale and debit-card transactions, has more than 300 gaming licenses worldwide and processes about 90 million transactions annually.
Multimedia Games has fewer than 100 licenses.
GCA will remain headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada and will continue to leverage Multimedia’s existing technology and manufacturing facilities in Austin, Texas.
Ram V Chary, GCA chief executive and president, said: “Today marks a great milestone as two organisations, with differentiated product and service offerings, unite to create a full-service solution for casino operators to optimise cash-to-the-floor solutions with player-proven slot gaming products that focus on retaining and acquiring new casino players.
“Much has been accomplished by many people in enabling this transaction to close, and now we are excited to begin merging two passionate employee cultures into one powerful organisation focused on customer service, operational efficiency and gaming innovation.”
The deal is the latest in a line of operators buying gaming system developers in the US with Scientific Games purchasing Bally Technologies for $5.1 billion and GTECH set to complete a $6.4 billion takeover of International Game Technology in early 2015.
However, Chary said: “This acquisition is unique in comparison to other recent transactions in the gaming industry.
“Our distinct businesses have very little operational duplication and our combined organisation will establish an industry-leading model with respect to recurring revenue contribution.
“We are immediately focused on benefiting from revenue synergies that exist by leveraging Multimedia Games’ full product portfolio across our widely licensed footprint and existing customer relationships, while also executing on cost synergies that have already been identified.”
source : www.igamingbusiness.com
