Oct 28 (Reuters) - Scientific Games Corp (SGMS.O) said on Wednesday it would sell its global lottery business to Canadian investment company Brookfield for $6.05 billion, in a move that will help it cut debt and pivot to a gaming and digital content provider.
The Las Vegas-based slot machine maker has been trimming down its business after ratcheting up $8.2 billion in net debt as of June 30. Last month, it sold its sports betting division, OpenBet, to Endeavor Group Holdings Inc (EDR.N) for $1.2 billion in cash and stock. read more
The deal with the flagship unit of Brookfield Asset Management (BAMa.TO) will consist of about $5.83 billion in cash and an additional payment of up to $225 million based on meeting certain profitability targets in 2022 and 2023.
Reuters had earlier reported that the company was in talks to potentially list the lottery business in Australia, but those plans would now be shelved because of the deal.
Analysts from Jefferies said in a note that they saw the "outcome incrementally favorably," as the company would get 100% of the net proceeds at closing, and expected leverage to come down imminently.
Brookfield said the deal would be funded with about $2.6 billion in equity, of which 30% will be raised through existing funds and the rest from its institutional partners.
The Scientific Games' business, which sells wholesale lottery system services in more than 50 countries, is expected to see a 14% rise in adjusted earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortization to $498 million in fiscal 2022.