GAN shareholders approve Sega Sammy acquisition

Sega Sammy Creation (SSC), an affiliate of Sega Sammy, agreed to acquire GAN in November last year. The deal is valued at $107.6m (£85.8m/€100.6m).

The deal is subject to several closing conditions, including approval from GAN shareholders. A vote took place yesterday at a meeting (13 February), with over 95% of votes in favour of the deal. 

Shareholders also approved compensation that may be paid or become payable to GAN’s named executive officers in connection with the merger.

Having cleared this hurdle, the deal must still satisfy other conditions to proceed. Should it satisfy these requirements, the acquisition is expected to close in late 2024 or early 2025.

GAN brand to remain

If the acquisition goes ahead, GAN will merge with SSC’s new special purpose company. GAN will be the surviving corporation after this merger.

Upon completion, GAN will cease to be a publicly-traded company. Its ordinary shares will delist from the Nasdaq Capital Market and also deregister.

As to why Sega Sammy is acquiring GAN, the group said it will help to expand its gaming business. Sega Sammy already operates an integrated resort through Paradise City in Japan, while it supplies gaming equipment and content through its SSC.

Much of this expansion, Sega Sammy says, will focus on the US igaming market. The group says it has identified “promising” growth opportunities in the US, with more states legalising igaming.

As legalised igaming becomes more widespread, Sega Sammy says existing operators will expand. With new operators also set to enter the US, it says acquiring GAN will allow it to directly capitalise on this expansion.

Strategic decision from GAN

The acquisition comes in the wake of a strategic review that GAN launched in Q1 last year. GAN said it was looking at strategic alternatives to improve value for shareholders. 

An update in September said GAN was considering all options. These included sales of parts of or the entire business, with GAN several parties had declared an interest.

In the same update, GAN announced the exit of long-serving CEO Dermot Smurfit after over 21 years at the helm. Non-executive chairman Seamus McGill was appointed interim CEO.

Sega Sammy: an expanding portfolio

GAN is the latest acquisition for Sega Sammy as it continue to grow its business following the merger of Sega and Sammy Corporation.

In August, the business purchased Rovio Entertainment, the developer behind the Angry Birds franchise, for €706.0m.

Sega Sammy opened talks over the Rovio purchase earlier in the year but faced competition from other parties. These included Playtika, which lodged several offers for the business, but later pulled out of discussions.