Not too long after major stakeholders of Ainsworth Game Technology (ATG) lambasted Novomatic’s takeover offer, saying that it undervalues the business, the latter company returned with another proposal.
Novomatic Returns with an Unconditional Offer
Novomatic, a European gaming powerhouse, has launched a new bid to acquire all of Ainsworth’s outstanding shares. The new proposal outlines an unconditional offer to buy out all ATG shares that Novomatic doesn’t currently own at a price of AUD 1 apiece.
This proposal implies a total bid value of AUD 158.6 million (approximately $104 million). According to Novomatic, this price is final.
The takeover was confirmed by ATG prior to its H1 2025 earnings call. The Australian manufacturer also confirmed that Novomatic had waived any right to include conditions, making the bid fully unconditional.
ATG Shareholders Opposed an Earlier Proposal
The new unconditional offer comes in the wake of reports that major ATG shareholders were staunchly rejecting an earlier proposal by Novomatic. Major investors, including the son of ATG’s founder, had reportedly formed an alliance to strike down the deal.
The unhappy shareholders suggested that Novomatic’s earlier bid undervalued the company, despite independent experts describing it as fair.
In any case, ATG seems to be optimistic about the latest proposal. In the absence of a superior proposal, ATG has encouraged its shareholders to approve the latest Novomatic bid.
ATG Posted Mixed H1 Results
In the meantime, ATG just reported its H1 results, posting AUD 152.1 million ($98 million) in revenue, up 22.4% year-on-year. The double-digit growth was lauded as an excellent success as ATG continues to rebound in the Asia-Pacific region.
Despite the favorable revenue, however, ATG reported EBITDA of only AUD 14.6 million ($9.4 million), which represents a sharp decline of 63.5% year-on-year. For comparison, ATG reported EBITDA of AUD 40 million in the prior-year period.
To make matters worse, ATG’s net profit plummeted as profit before tax fell by 163% to AUD 1.6 million ($1 million). Profit after tax declined to AUD 4.9 million ($3.2 million).
While ATG’s business continued to perform strongly in North America and experienced a rebound in Asia-Pacific, it failed to replicate the same success in LATAM and Europe.