Aristocrat faces second rival on $3.9b Playtech deal

JKO is controlled by the Irish former Formula One team owner and television personality Eddie Jordan, and Keith O’Loughlin, who until July this year was a senior executive at the US slot machine maker Scientific Games.

Playtech said JKO was talking to the New York private equity giant Centerbridge Partners and others about funding a takeover, although no financing commitment had been made.

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Aristocrat’s shares closed 3.6 per cent weaker at $45.64, after delivering full-year results in line with guidance provided when revealing the Playtech deal last month.

The company reported statutory net profit after tax of $820 million, down 40 per cent from last year when it was bolstered by a $1 billion tax benefit. On an underlying basis, profit grew 80 per cent to $865 million, returning close to pre-pandemic levels as casinos and other customers resumed buying its gaming machines.

Revenue jumped 14.4 per cent to $4.7 billion (an increase of 25 per cent in constant currency terms), with a 27.5 per cent boost in its pokies business and a 15 per cent jump in its mobile video game division.

Aristocrat announced a fully franked final dividend of 26¢, to be paid on December 17, which takes its full-year payout to 41¢, up from 10¢ last year.

Macquarie analyst David Fabris said Aristocrat’s business verticals were “well-placed for ongoing market share gain momentum” at it continued to invest in its key drivers of game development and online user aquisition spending.

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