rnational Game Technology (IGT) and DoubleU Games Co have today agreed an $825m deal which will see IGT sell its DoubleDown social casino brand.

The firm, which is headquartered in Las Vegas, had previously reported long-term debts of $7.863bn and hopes to use the proceeds from the sale to reduce this debt.

IGT have said that the transaction “establishes a new multi-year strategic partnership between IGT and DoubleU Games to provide innovative player experiences in the social casino market worldwide”.

DoubleDown was bought by IGT in 2012 for $500m and the deal represents a return of $325m on its initial investment.

IGT Chief Executive Marco Sala said: “Since acquiring DoubleDown in 2012, IGT has grown it into one of the largest and most successful brands in the North American social casino market.”

Sale of the business has been provisionally approved by the board of directors at IGT but remains subject to final approval, and it is hoped that the sale will conclude before the end of the second quarter of 2017.

Under the terms of the deal IGT and DoubleU games will enter into a game development and distribution agreement which will enable DoubleU Games to offer IGT’s casino games on its social casino platforms, in exchange for payment of royalties to IGT.

DoubleU, which trades on the Korean Stock Exchange was founded the same year as IGT and has its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea.

Ga-Ram Kim, Chief Executive of DoubleU said today: “This transaction represents a unique and value-accretive partnership combining the operational excellence of DoubleU Games with IGT's world-class slot content.”

He added: “With this partnership, we are excited and confident about DoubleU Games' future as a global leader in social casino.”