Austrian gaming giant Novomatic and its founder Johann Graf have increased their stake in Australian slot machine supplier Ainsworth Game Technology (AGT) to almost 60%. However, the Ainsworth family – which has publicly disputed Novomatic’s takeover efforts – have taken some steps to increase their stake too.
According to recent filings, Graf and the combined entities of Novomatic AG, JFG Privatstiftung and NovoInvest GmbH have upped their interest in AGT from 58.8% to 59.8% during a series of 14 transactions between 29 August and 18 September. The entities have gradually increased their stake from 52.9% since announcing plans to acquire a 100% interest in the company earlier this year, albeit via an unconditional takeover offer issued to shareholders rather than an initial scheme of arrangement that received pushback from the Ainsworth family.
Notably, Kjerulf Ainsworth, the son of company founder Len Ainsworth and who led a block of shareholders to move against Novomatic’s acquisition bid, last week increased his own stake in AGT from 5.58% to 7.27%.
While Novomatic is proceeding with its unconditional takeover bid through which it will acquire all of the shares of any shareholders who accept the offer, AGT’s Independent Board Committee has stated that it maintains a unanimous recommendation that shareholders accept the Novomatic takeover bid, subject to an independent expert concluding and continuing to conclude that the bid is fair and reasonable, or not fair but reasonable to AGT shareholders and there being no superior proposal.
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