Bally shareholders approve Scientific Games takeover
$5.1bn acquisition on track to complete in early 2015 as more than 76% of Bally stockholders vote in favour of the deal
Scientific Games has moved one step closer to completing its US$5.1bn takeover of Bally Technologies after the latter’s shareholders approved the deal at a meeting yesterday.
More than 99% of the votes represented and cast at the meeting, or around 76% of the total eligible votes, were in favour of the deal, which is expected to complete early next year.
Shareholders also approved the non-binding advisory proposal regarding merger-related compensation, with more than 65% of votes cast in favor of the planned financial structure of the deal.
The merger was first announced in August, with Scientific Games paying $83.30 per share for the supplier, putting the total value of the acquisition at $5.1bn including $1.8bn of existing Bally debt.
But the acquisition looked to have been thrown into doubt after a number of banks put off syndicating $3.19bn of loans Scientific Games had planned to use to help fund the takeover, as reported in eGR NA last month.
Earlier this week Scientific Games announced it had raised $3.15bn of funding through its SGMS Escrow Corp subsidiary to help finance the acquisition.
The acquisition was announced just months after Scientific Games’ $1.5bn buyout of slots giant WSM, which completed in October last year, and Bally’s $1.3bn takeover of SHFL, which completed in November 2013.