Kjerulf Ainsworth, the son of company founder Len Ainsworth, has launched a second proportional takeover bid in a bid to lift his stake in Australian slot machine supplier Ainsworth Game Technology (AGT).
In a letter to other shareholders filed Wednesday, Ainsworth said he intends to make an all-cash unconditional offer to acquire 5.5% of ordinary shares above his current holding for AU$1.30 per share.
If successful, this would see his interest rise from 8.17% currently to around 13.25%, he explained.
Having previously increased his shareholding in AGT from 7.27% under his original proportional takeover offer – itself a response to Novomatic’s unsuccessful bid to take AGT private – Ainsworth said the new offer was being made to “to honor the commitment made in my letter to shareholders on 2 February 2026 and to ensure that all shareholders have the opportunity to receive the Offer Price for a portion of their shares.”
It would, he added, deliver an “attractive premium relative to historical trading prices in shares for a portion of each shareholder’s investment in AGT, without the need to incur brokerage costs that would otherwise be payable for any on-market sale.”
Specifically, the offer price represents a 23.8% premium to the company’s closing share price on 10 March 2026 and a 23.5% premium to the volume weighted average price of Shares over the 30 trading days ending on 10 March 2026. It is also 30% higher than the AU$1.00 offered by Novomatic under its takeover offer. Novomatic ultimately increased its controlling stake in AGT from 53.9% to 66.6%.
An earlier attempt to acquire 100% of AGT via a scheme of arrangement was ultimately terminated when it became clear that a block of smaller AGT shareholders led by Ainsworth had rallied enough support to block the transaction.
Ainsworth said full details of his latest bid would be provided by way of a Bidder’s Statement.
RelatedPosts
