Aristocrat Gaming to sell mobile gaming arm Plarium for up to $820m
Decision comes after company’s strategic review, with the proceeds earmarked to “fund Aristocrat’s longer-term growth strategy”
Aristocrat Gaming has announced the sale of its mobile gaming business Plarium Global to Modern Times Group (MTG), in a deal worth up to $820m (£639m).
The deal structure will see Aristocrat, via its subsidiary Pixel United Holdings, receive a fixed consideration of $620m.
Should the sale complete, $600m will be payable upon close of the transaction, with a further $20m to be paid by April 2026.
Aristocrat will also receive a contingent consideration of $200m, subject to certain financial goals being met between 2025 and 2028.
MTG is a Swedish-based entertainment company which owns a series of mobile gaming suppliers such as Inno Games, Hutch and Ninja Kiwi.
The sale decision comes after Aristocrat undertook a strategic review of Plarium earlier this year in May.
The firm said the divestment of Plarium represented “an important milestone for Aristocrat as it focuses on growth across its regulated gaming strength in core land-based gaming, real-money gaming and social casino opportunities”.
Aristocrat first purchased Plarium in 2017, with the business generating around $615m in revenue for Pixel United from January to September 2024.
Aristocrat CEO and managing director Trevor Croker said: “The sale of Plarium follows a strategic review into our casual and mid-core gaming assets that we announced in May 2024.
“With the expanded Aristocrat Interactive business now sitting alongside Aristocrat Gaming and our market leading mobile casino business, we are increasingly focused on opportunities to lean into Aristocrat’s strengths in regulated gaming content and social slots.”
Croker noted that Aristocrat’s initial purchase of Plarium delivered returns which exceeded expectations.
He added: “Aristocrat has incorporated a range of Plarium’s strategic capabilities and mobile content know-how into its core gaming operations over the past seven years, benefitting from digital marketing and UA management capability, enhanced live operations and scaling and growing our combined social casino business.
“We are also pleased to have achieved an IRR [internal rate of return] from the acquisition of Plarium in excess of our target rates.
“Our ownership of Plarium has helped to drive Aristocrat’s digital transformation, extending our track record of successfully acquiring businesses to accelerate our strategy.”
Since the sale announcement, MTG’s share price rose more than 12% in European trading markets, currently sitting at SEK83.20 (£5.97).
At the time of writing, Aristocrat’s share price rests at A$64.93 (£33.17), down 1.04% from market open.