IGT has officially shed off its Gaming & Digital business, and will begin trading on NYSE under the new identity Brightstar Lottery as of 2 July.
The Gaming & Digital branch was acquired by private equity fund Apollo Global Management, with the transaction valued at $4bn cash in net proceeds for Brightstar to operate as a standalone lottery technology supplier.
From that, $1.1bn will be used as a return on investment for Brightstar shareholders at a $3 per share price, payable 29 July, 2025, together with a $500m two-year share repurchase program.
Around $2bn will be allocated to debt reduction commitments reported at $5.6bn as of March 2025, with the remainder funding general corporate purposes and Italy-centric activities.
Marco Sala, Executive Chair of Brightstar, commented: “The balanced allocation of proceeds to significantly reduce debt and return substantial capital to shareholders, in addition to funding investments in growth and improving ongoing shareholder returns, reflect the Board’s continuing commitment to enhance shareholder value.”
In July 2024, Apollo secured a $6.3bn deal that saw IGT’s Global Gaming and PlayDigital units consolidated and merged with Everi Holdings.
IGT/Brightstar then separated from IGT Gaming to form two companies but both remained under Apollo’s commercial structure.
Fully approving the merger last year, Everi stakeholders will receive $14.25 in cash per share under the terms.
The combined enterprise between Everi and IGT’s former divisions will be headquartered in Las Vegas, maintaining a focus on Gaming, Digital, and FinTech.
Apollo Partner Daniel Cohen welcomed the merger taking IGT’s new identity: “We are Bringing together highly complementary businesses to create a more competitive, agile and well-capitalised platform built for long-term growth.
“We are confident that IGT is well-positioned to deliver differentiated content and capabilities that better serve customers across the globe.”
Meanwhile, IGT’s lottery arm has continued to operate independently under the Brighstar Lottery brand as mentioned earlier.