Light & Wonder has formally announced the completion of its sports betting business OpenBet to Endeavour Group Holdings for a total amount of $800m.
Under the provisions of the deal, Endeavour will pay $750m in cash, subject to customary adjustments, as well as 2.3 million shares of Class A common stock.
Light & Wonder completes OpenBet divestiture
For L&W, the sale marks the final step in its corporate plan to divest certain business divisions and streamline the company.
It comes after it sold its lottery division for $5bn to Brookfield Business Partners, with the company’s former CEO Barry Cottle lauding the deal’s ‘transformative’ impact by helping to reduce its debt ratio.
“With the completion of the divestiture and our now streamlined organization, Light & Wonder is well positioned to execute on our growth strategy with a singular focus on building great games fully cross-platform,” said Matt Wilson, interim Chief Executive Officer of Light & Wonder.
“With our R&D engine and world-class talent at our core, we have an unparalleled ability to leverage our leading industry positions, evergreen franchises and unmatched platforms to drive sustainable differentiation and significant value.
“I want to thank our teams for their hard work and dedication to ensure a quick and successful completion of this important transaction. Endeavor is the right partner for OpenBet and we wish our OpenBet colleagues all the best on this exciting new chapter.”
Ready to unlock ‘tremendous value’
Following the sale, Light & Wonder has praised the way it has ‘rapidly delivered on key commitments’ with further funds available to drive down the debt and change its balance sheet health.
The company claims it is now in a position to ‘unlock tremendous value’ in its new position in the cross-platform global games market.
Wilson added: “Importantly, with the completion of this sale, we have delivered on our key priority to transform our balance sheet, with a clear path to achieving our Targeted Net Debt Leverage Ratio range of 2.5x to 3.5x.
“With our high mix of recurring and digital revenues, double-digit growth profile, $1.4bn of 2025 Targeted Consolidated AEBITDA and strong cash flow, we have created an opportunity to generate significant excess capital.
“Our enhanced financial flexibility accelerates our ability to return substantial capital to shareholders through our share repurchase program, while also pursuing our key growth initiatives, enabling us to unlock tremendous shareholder value going forward.”
