Light & Wonder holds investor call to discuss Grover Gaming acquisition
The gaming supplier entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the charitable gaming assets of Grover Gaming for a total consideration of $850m cash on February 18.
Key Points
- Grover Charitable Gaming is a provider of electronic pull-tabs, with over 10,000 leased pull-tab units launched in five states across the US currently
- Once the transaction is complete, which is expected during Q2 2025, employees from both Grover Gaming and Light & Wonder will occupy the business
After entering into an agreement to acquire the charitable gaming assets of Grover Gaming for a total consideration of $850m, Light & Wonder held an investor conference call on February 18 to discuss details of the transaction.
Light & Wonder will aim to assist with the continued growth of Grover Gaming, which also offers the gaming provider the opportunity to cross into a different sector of the industry. The company has reportedly performed well in the charity space and has already built solid relationships with many providers.
Light & Wonder CEO Matt Wilson and CFO Oliver Chow fielded questions during the call, with Wilson highlighting Grover Gaming’s “front-end execution base and sales team” when speaking on the company’s interest in Grover.
“Combining Grover’s customer obsession with Light & Wonder’s games obsession introduces an opportunity for us to grow our R&D capital and create a marriage between two incredible companies,” Wilson said.
“We discussed entering the charitable gaming market organically, but it would take us five, six, seven, or even eight years to reach this level and scale. We plan on building out a fragmented customer base and infrastructure to continue advancing into new markets.”
Good to know: Nathan Drane was promoted to the role of CPO for Light & Wonder on February 11, having most recently served as CPO of the company’s gaming sector and first joining Light & Wonder during early 2021
Wilson specifically mentioned Minnesota and Maryland as the two states Light & Wonder will focus on entering in the near future, as the company sees an opportunity to “move quickly” due to the existing regulations surrounding charitable gaming. Minnesota allows for charitable gaming through tablet-specific platforms, despite most states allowing for electronic gaming machines (EGMs), like Maryland.
In terms of working with regulators to continue entry into markets such as Minnesota and Maryland, Wilson explained that Light & Wonder has learned to not commit time to things “out of its control,” but regulatory requirements are a focus despite not being built into the company’s base.
“One of our primary focuses is the length of time these machines are on the floor. In the Grover space, they are on the floor much longer than those in class III for example, meaning we can integrate Land-based content into these facilities over time,” Chow said.
Wilson also stated that “incremental” additions to revenue will be generated by the acquisition, but the company will explain financial ramifications at an investors meeting in New York later during 2025. The Light & Wonder CEO explained how the company is “extremely excited” about the opportunities that await, and that the Grover Gaming acquisition will have more implications for Light & Wonder beyond 2025.
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