Italian lottery company GTECH has entered preliminary stage talks regarding a potential takeover of Las Vegas-based slot developer IGT.
The stunning news broke this week as GTECH confirmed that it did not anticipate that it would require a capital increase in order to fund the potential purchase of one of the online slot industry’s largest firms.
IGT currently holds a market value of $3.9 billion but it has not been stated whether or not GTECH’s bid to purchase the developer would be for this amount or for a higher figure.
GTECH has announced that it plans on using a combination of cash and equity to fund the deal. It is also rumored that private equity firm, The Carlyle Group, are interested in entering preliminary takeover talks with IGT.
IGT has built an elite reputation within the land-based and online gaming industry for its popular slot releases including the sinister Black Widow slot and the legendary Cleopatra slot.
An IGT statement read “IGT regularly considers, and on occasion explores, a broad range of strategic alternatives, including but not limited to business combinations.”
The statement continued “The IGT board of directors and senior management are currently engaged in such an exploration.”
