Light & Wonder completes $800m OpenBet sale

Endeavor – a sports media business that owns IMG Arena – will pay $750m in cash for OpenBet, plus 2.3 million Class A shares, worth $50m.

The sale forms part of a general streamlining of the Light & Wonder business, formerly known as Scientific Games. It also sold its lottery arm – which retained the Scientific Games name – in October of last year to private equity group Brookfield Business Partners.

The sale also follows the exit of Barry Cottle as Light & Wonder chief executive, with Matt Wilson serving in the role on a temporary basis until a full-time replacement is found. 

Wilson said the new business can now focus on growth, now that it has a more clear focus on gaming, whether land-based, online or social.

“With the completion of the OpenBet divestiture and our now streamlined organisation, Light & Wonder is well positioned to execute on our growth strategy with a singular focus on building great games fully cross-platform.

“With our R&D engine and world-class talent at our core, we have an unparalleled ability to leverage our leading industry positions, evergreen franchises and unmatched platforms to drive sustainable differentiation and significant value. 

“I want to thank our teams for their hard work and dedication to ensure a quick and successful completion of this important transaction. Endeavor is the right partner for OpenBet and we wish our OpenBet colleagues all the best on this exciting new chapter.”

Initially, Endeavor was set to pay $1.20bn and the deal was set to close in Q2. However, at this deadline, Light & Wonder then revealed that it cut the price by a third in order to get the deal over the line.