Light & Wonder acquires remaining shares of slot developer SciPlay, becoming its sole owner

Light & Wonder has completed its previously announced acquisition of the remaining approximately 17% equity interest in digital gaming business SciPlay Corporation that it did not previously hold. This all-cash transaction, valued at $22.95 per share, secures Light & Wonder's position as the sole owner of the slot developer. The acquisition is worth more than $420 million in total.

SciPlay will now operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Light & Wonder. SciPlay common stock will no longer be publicly traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

Matt Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Light & Wonder, said: "Fully integrating SciPlay with Light & Wonder creates a more streamlined organization with the financial strength to accelerate our cross-platform strategy and deliver enhanced shareholder returns."

"SciPlay continues to achieve record-setting results and market outperformance, and we are confident that together we will build on their considerable momentum. As one company, we will drive improved collaboration between our talented teams to build and deploy the most engaging games across our digital and land-based platforms and create a more seamless, best-in-class player experience," he added.

Both businesses posted all-time revenue records in both Q1 and Q2 of 2023. SciPlay’s revenue reached $190 million in the three months to June 30, 2023, which was up 18.8% year-on-year. Light & Wonder put this down to the core social casino business, which delivered strong payer metrics and outpaced the market. Group revenue for the three months was $731 million, up 19.8% year-on-year.

In December 2021, when Light & Wonder was still known as Scientific Games, the business abandoned plans to acquire the remaining 19% of SciPlay. "This opportunity would not be prudent for our shareholders at this time," the business then said.

Light & Wonder sold its lottery business to private equity company Brookfield Business Partners in April 2022 in a deal worth $5.8 billion. In October 2022, the business also completed the sale of its OpenBet sports betting platform to Endeavor.