Novomatic’s stake in Ainsworth steadily rises to 58.8%
Novomatic’s takeover bid for Ainsworth is progressing with the supplier announcing the on-market acquisition of an additional 3.6% of its target’s stock.
Key points:
– Novomatic shareholding in Ainsworth increases from 55.2% to 58.8%, sitting at 52.9% only a few days ago
– Allan Gray investment management company sells over 9.3 million shares
– Ainsworth Independent Board Committee is still recommending that shareholders accept Novomatic’s takeover bid
Novomatic’s move to takeover Ainsworth is incrementally advancing and the supplier has bolstered its shareholding in the target company with an additional 3.6% of available stock according to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
The previous update to this situation was two-pronged: Novomatic terminated its scheme of arrangement proposal with one hand and maintained its separate offer of AU$1 (US$0.65) per share with the other.
A proposed meeting to vote on the now defunct scheme of arrangement was cancelled due to an understanding that the requisite majority vote was not likely to be achieved.
Those announcements came alongside news that Novomatic had increased its stake in Ainsworth from 52.9% to 55.2% – though this figure has jumped up another 3.6% and now stands at 58.8%.
Concurrently, the Allan Gray investment management company has lodged a notice with the ASX, indicating the on-market sale of just over 9.3m securities.
Good to know: Ainsworth’s H1 2025 results made for encouraging reading to shareholders, with revenue up at AU$152.1m, a 22.4% year-on-year increase
From 27 August to 28 August, Novomatic has picked up an additional 12.3 million ordinary shares in Ainsworth, and with the Ainsworth Independent Board Committee formally recommending that shareholders vote to accept the bid, it appears things are going Novomatic’s way.
Ainsworth is expecting to release its Target’s Statement in September and has asked its shareholders to refrain from accepting Novomatic’s approach until after this time.
It remains to be seen how much Novomatic’s stake will increase between now and then, with shareholders free to ignore this request.
Earlier this month, Novomatic exclusively told Gambing Insider it will not increase the value of its offer for Ainsworth.
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