Aristocrat Expected To Pursue Strategic Mergers and Acquisitions

Posted on January 26, 2023 | 10:33 am
fitch_strong_financials_has_aristocrat_well_positioned_to_pursue_strategic_acquisitions

Aristocrat Leisure Limited, the gigantic Australian supplier of slot games for land-based and online casinos, is expected to pursue an expansion strategy through mergers and acquisitions in the following period.

This assumption was made by Fitch, the famous international ratings agency, which examined Aristocrat Leisure Limited and affirmed the Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings for the company at “BBB-” with a stable outlook.

The ratings agency also noted that the Australian company is in a strong financial position and that it could even settle any merger and acquisition deals using cash as it has plenty of reserves.

The Fitch report also highlighted the fact that Aristocrat is in a net cash position as its liquidity was boosted by an equity raise of 1.3 billion Australian dollars in the second part of 2021, when the Australian company made an offer to acquire Playtech, another global gaming giant.

The deal eventually fell through, but the money raised by Aristocrat to fund this bid is still available, which means the company is able to pursue other opportunities for mergers and acquisitions.

Fitch also mentioned that it expects Aristocrat to acquire businesses in the real-money gaming sector and that the Australian company is “in a flexible position to comfortably fund small to mid-size acquisitions and major share buybacks with cash.”

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Moving Towards Digital

Aristocrat dominates the slot machine market in Australia and it is also one of the top three suppliers in the United States alongside Light & Wonder (formerly known as Scientific Gaming) and IGT. The Australian manufacturer holds a 20 percent share in slot sales in the United States market according to Fitch.

However, the company has been investing more and more in its digital business in recent years, and the revenue from this segment went up from just 16 percent in 2017 to 46 percent in 2022.

The ratings agency estimates lower revenues for digital in 2023, but the cash influx from this sector will still be well above the levels recorded before the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Aristocrat Leisure Limited was founded all the way back in 1953 and since then it grew into a company with a significant global presence, operating in over 90 countries around the world. The corporation’s headquarters and administrative offices are located in Sydney, but Aristocrat also has marketing and development offices in the United States, South Africa and Russia.

SOURCE:

. asgam.com January 23, 2023.

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