AGS has entered into a definitive acquisition agreement with Brightstar Capital Partners, estimated to be worth $1.1bn. 

The private equity firm, which invests primarily in manufacturing, industrial and services, will acquire AGS stocks at $12.50 per share, a 40% premium on the supplier’s stock price at the close of 8 May 2024. The acquisition will be led by Macquarie Capital and Cooley LLP as AGS’ financial advisor and legal counsel respectively, while Brightstar will entrust these roles to Jefferies LLC, Barclays and Citizens JMP Securities, and Kirkland & Ellis.  

The acquisition is expected to conclude in the second half of next year and will be subject to regulatory approvals and approvals from AGS stockholders. Following its completion, AGS will be listed as a privately held company, with AGS shares becoming delisted from the public market.  

In response to the acquisition, AGS will no longer be releasing its Q1 financial report, either as an earnings release or as a conference call.  

The report comes following a hypothesis from Gambling Insider last month, where we noted several major companies within the industry, such as Bally’s and Endeavor, turning their back on public trade in favour of going private. Private businesses benefit from less admin and reduced market volatility, though lose out on access to capital in some regards. 

Though, with a $1bn+ acquisition, it seems even capital isn’t a major concern.