MILAN (Reuters):
ITALY'S LOTTOMATICA said on Tuesday it would buy 100 per cent of United States lottery company GTech for ¤4 billion (US$4.8 billion) in cash to create the world's biggest lottery operator.
Gtech is the the technology service provider for Supreme Ventures Limited, Jamaica's biggest gaming company.
Lottomatica, owned by unlisted Italian group De Agostini and the operator of the country's lottery, said in a statement it would offer US$35 per GTech share, a premium of 15 per cent on the shares' value on September 9, when GTech's board said it would consider takeover offers.
Lottomatica said it would finance the deal through a ¤1.4 billion capital increase, a 2066 bond issue worth ¤750 million, a ¤1.9 billion bank loan, as well as using existing cash reserves worth ¤400 million.
GTech, which operates in more than 50 countries, is controlled by funds and institutional investors.
