The Board of Directors of global gaming supplier Light & Wonder has approved a new three-year share repurchase program for the repurchase of up to US$1 billion in the outstanding common stock through June 2027, the company announced overnight.
The new share repurchase program replaces the previous US$750 million program that had been due to expire in February 2025, with Light & Wonder confirming it has already exhausted the full US$750 million authorization. This, it said, has seen the company purchase 11.2 million common shares, or 11.5% of shares outstanding at the inception of the program. The average purchase price of US$66.72 per share represents a 28% discount to today’s closing price of US$92.35.
“I am pleased to announce that the Board has approved a new, upsized share repurchase program as we continue to successfully execute our growth strategy and return meaningful capital to our shareholders,” said Light & Wonder’s CEO Matt Wilson.
“With strong operating performance continuing across the business, we remain on track to achieve our US$1.4 billion Consolidated Adusted EBITDA target for 2025 while continuing to invest for the future.”
CFO Oliver Chow added, “Given the continued momentum in the business, and our 31 March 2024 net debt leverage ratio at the middle of our target range of 2.5 to 3.5x, we have significant optionality with regards to capital allocation. Our prior program was an effective value creation tool and moving forward the new program will allow us to deliver further value to our shareholders while underscoring our commitment to driving profitable growth and upside beyond 2025.”
Light & Wonder said the timing and amount of repurchases under the new share repurchase program will be determined by the company at its discretion based on its evaluation of market conditions, share price and other factors.
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