Amaya completes Diamond Game IPO
Toronto-based gaming giant raises $49.1m through flotation of land-based lottery subsidiary on TSXÂ
Amaya Gaming has successfully spun-off its Diamond Game subsidiary for CA$49.1m after closing an initial public offering (IPO) on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) yesterday. [private]
The firm first announced plans to sell off Diamond Game in March, as part of plans to divest its entire B2B business in a bid to pay off debt and maximize shareholder value.
An Amaya subsidiary, Innova Gaming Group, was formed in connection with the offering and holds all the shares of Diamond Game Enterprises, and will trade on the TSX under the ticker âIGGâ.
The floatation resulted in gross proceeds of $15m for Innova and $34.1m for Amaya and post-IPO Amaya will retain a 40% stake in Innova Gaming Group, which will drop to 31% if the underwriters exercise the option to purchase shares allocated for over-allotment.
Amaya purchased Diamond Game back in February 2014 for CA$25m in a bid to expand its B2B lottery footprint in North America, but following the acquisition of PokerStars in June Amaya announced plans to withdraw from the B2B sector.
The firm completed its exit from the B2B sector with the sale of its online B2B business to NYX Gaming in April in a deal worth £80m, having previously sold its Ongame poker network to the supplier in November last year.
It also announced the sale of its land-based Cadillac Jack slots and bingo B2B subsidiary to Apollo Global Management in a deal worth $475m in March.
Last month Amaya revealed its acquisition of PokerStars had driven record FY 2014 revenues to $688m with profits up 365% to $293m with the firm focusing on growing its B2C operations in the coming months.