GAMBLING INSIDER

Canadian investment firm Pollard Equities has become the latest name to purchase additional shares in global gaming technology operator NYX Gaming Group, ahead of a proposed $631m merger with Scientific Games Corporation.

The company, which is the majority shareholder in Pollard Banknote, a company which supplies lottery tickets, exercised the right to purchase four million fixed price options/warrants of NYX Gaming Group ordinary shares.

Pollard will pay a fixed price of approximately CDN$0.03 per warrant/option at a total cost of CDN$120,000. The company currently owns 8,621,300 shares in NYX Gaming Group, which is 8% of the group’s ordinary shares; upon completion of all the warrants/options the company will own 11.2% of the available ordinary shares in NYX Gaming.

NYX Gaming has been the subject of fevered investment activity over the past month following UK bookmaker William Hill’s decision to request that its convertible preference shares in the group be converted into ordinary shares no later than 4 December, 2017, to enable William Hill to vote in connection with the proposed acquisition by Scientific Games Corporation.

The move prompted both Scientific Games and NYX Gaming Group to file anti-trust lawsuits against William Hill over claims that it is attempting to derail the proposed merger and as such stymie competition in the US gambling industry, a claim which William Hill have strenuously denied.

In the interim period, Scientific Games has increased its shareholding in NYX Gaming Group, concluding a $27m deal to purchase 11,600,000 ordinary shares in the group earlier this month. They then followed this up with an agreement to purchase a further 7,021,352 shares and preference warrants from fellow gaming company The Stars Group.

At the same time, Scientific Games and NYX Gaming Group reinforced their commitment to the $631m merger, amending their proposed merger agreement to state that in the event that the acquisition of NYX Gaming is not approved by its shareholders, Scientific Games will make a contractual takeover offer for the business at the same initial acquisition cost of $631m.

With the merger between the two still in the balance, there will undoubtedly be a number of institutional investors and gaming firms looking to potentially purchase shares in NYX hoping to make significant profits for their businesses.