Stocks Tracker: Private capital pushes stocks skywards
EGR analyses the share prices of key industry players in July, including Bally’s, IGT and Evolution
IGT
1 July closing: $19.99
31 July closing: $23.47
Peak July closing: $23.77
It was all action at the end of July for IGT after it was announced that Apollo Global Management had agreed a $6.3bn deal to acquire IGT’s gaming and digital arm, as well as Everi in the transaction. The deal is expected to conclude in Q3 2025 and will see IGT receive $4.05bn of gross cash proceeds for IGT gaming.
The move from Apollo came after IGT and Everi announced a deal that would separate IGT’s gaming business by the way of a taxable spin-off to IGT shareholders and then immediately be combined with Everi. The deal sent IGT’s share price soaring on 26 July, closing the week out at $23.77 from a previous close of $20.16.
The firm then revealed Q2 revenue of $1.05bn, along with adjusted EBITDA of $420m – a decrease of 4% against Q2 2023. IGT’s stock did dip slightly before ticking back up to its post-acquisition announcement level.
Bally’s
1 July closing: $11.83
31 July closing: $17.23
Peak July closing: $17.24
Another gambling business set to be taken into private hands is Bally’s after shareholders backed a $4.6bn takeover by the group’s largest stockholder Standard General towards the end of July.
The deal values the Rhode Island-based firm at $18.25 per share, which is an improvement on Standard General’s previous $15 per share officer in mid-March. Under the remit of the deal, Bally’s will combine with The Queen Casino and Entertainment, a regional land-based operator majority owned by funds managed by Standard General.
The deal should complete in H1 2025 has received backing from both the Sinclair Broadcast Group and Gamesys founder Noel Hayden. The move will see Bally’s move out of the public markets after listing in 2019 via a reverse merger when it was known as Twin River.
The operator’s shares soared on the back of the news and are up more than 45% over the past month.
La Française des Jeux (FDJ)
1 July closing: €32
31 July closing: €35.90
Peak July closing: €35.90
FDJ also had to bide its time on the stock market in July as investors waited until the group’s Q2 trading update towards the end of the month, which eventually saw the French operator’s stock leap.
With the market closing on 25 July and FDJ sitting at €32.68, the release of the performance that evening saw the group’s share price jump to €35.36 by close of play the next day. Bosses revealed H1 revenue was up 11% year on year (YoY) to €1.4bn while EBITDA rose 23.5% to €370m.
Management were also bullish on the acquisition of Kindred Group and brushed aside fears that France’s competition authorities could block the deal. CFO Pascal Chaffard said the combined group would still be far behind market leaders Winamax and Betclic, adding that any suggestion Kindred’s flagship Unibet brand could be pulled from France was out of the realm of possibility.
Evolution
1 July closing: SEK1,105
31 July closing: SEK1,037
Peak July closing: SEK1,170
Despite once again flexing its M&A muscles and delivering a 15.3% YoY rise in Q2 revenue, Evolution had to deal with a stock slide during July following its double announcement.
The Stockholm-listed firm confirmed post-market close on 18 July that it had agreed an $85m deal to acquire Galaxy Gaming, which will see Galaxy Gaming’s outstanding shares of common stock snapped up for $3.20 each.
The following day, the supplier revealed Q2 revenue had leapt to €508.4m as EBITDA rose 10.9% to €345.8m, although CEO Martin Carlesund said the quarter was not a “full reflection” of the group’s performance.
Despite the CEO’s comments, the group’s RNG division posted its highest revenue in the past five quarters at €70.3m.
Kambi
1 July closing: SEK104
31 July closing: SEK124
Peak July closing: SEK125
After seeing its share price fall as low as SEK100 at the start of the month, Kambi’s stock rebounded ahead of the release of the company’s Q2 financial report. A then-monthly high of SEK111.70 came on 12 July before falling to SEK103.10.
However, the market reacted positively to the Stockholm-listed firm’s latest trading update on 24 July as the company’s share price leapt to SEK117.90.
In what will be CEO Kristian Nylén’s final quarter in leading the supplier, Kambi revenue improved 7% against Q2 2023, rising from €42.9m to €45.7m. EBITDA leapt 25% to €16.1m while post-tax profit landed at €4.7m, up 83% against Q2 2023 in what was a welcome send-off for the CEO.
New boss Werner Becher will be hoping to keep the share price growth going, after reaching a July peak of SEK125.50, just a few days after he took the reins at the business.