Brightstar Capital Partners, L.P. signed a definitive agreement to acquire PlayAGS, Inc. for $550 million.
May 08, 2024
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Brightstar Capital Partners, L.P. signed a definitive agreement to acquire PlayAGS, Inc. (NYSE:AGS) for $550 million on May 8, 2024. AGS shareholders will receive $12.50 per share in cash. Upon completion of the transaction, AGS will become a privately held company and shares of AGS common stock will no longer be listed on any public market. Barclays Bank PLC, Citizens Bank, N.A. and Jefferies Finance LLC are parties to a debt commitment letter (the ?Debt Commitment Letter? and, together with the Equity Commitment Letter, the ?Commitment Letters?) delivered to Brightstar and have agreed to provide, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Debt Commitment Letter, certain debt financing to fund a portion of the payment of the aggregate Merger consideration and other amounts required to be paid under the Merger Agreement. Upon termination of the Merger Agreement in accordance with its terms, under specified circumstances, AGS will be required to pay Brightstar a termination fee, including if the Merger Agreement is terminated due to (i) the Company accepting a superior offer or (ii) the Company Board?s withdrawal of its recommendation of the Merger, in which case the termination fee payable by the Company to Brightstar will be $9,700,000 until June 22, 2024, at which point the termination fee payable by the Company to Brightstar will be $19,300,000. The Merger Agreement further provides that Brightstar will be required to pay the Company a termination fee of $38,600,000 in the event that the Merger Agreement is terminated under certain specified circumstances, including if the Merger Agreement is terminated by the Company following (i) Brightstar?s failure to consummate the Merger as required pursuant to, and in the circumstances specified in, the Merger Agreement or (ii) Brightstar or Merger Sub?s material breach of their representations, warranties or covenants in a manner that would cause the related closing conditions to not be satisfied. Brightstar may also be required to pay the Company a termination fee of $24,800,000 in the event that the Merger Agreement is terminated due to the failure to obtain gaming regulatory approvals in the circumstances specified in the Merger Agreement.
The proposed transaction, which is expected to close in the second half of 2025 is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals, expiration or termination of any waiting periods applicable to the consummation of the Merger under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 and approval by a majority of AGS stockholders. The Company?s Board of Directors has unanimously approved, and recommended that the Company?s stockholders approve, the agreement. The board of directors of Brightstar Capital Partners also approved the merger. Macquarie Capital is serving as financial advisor and Fairness Opinion provider to the Board of AGS and Steven M. Przesmicki and Miguel J. Vega of Cooley LLP is serving as legal counsels to AGS. Jefferies LLC is serving as lead financial advisor to Brightstar. Barclays and Citizens JMP Securities are also serving as financial advisors to Brightstar. Michael E. Weisser, Matthew S. Arenson and Lee M. Blum of Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal counsels to Brightstar.
PlayAGS, Inc. is a designer and supplier of electronic gaming machines (EGMs) and other products and services for the gaming industry. The Company's segments include EGMs, Table Products and Interactive Games. The EGM segment includes server-based systems and back-office systems that are used by Class II Native American and Mexico gaming jurisdictions and Class III Native American, commercial, and charitable jurisdictions. It offers a library of proprietary video slot titles developed for the global marketplace. The Table Products segment includes live felt table games, side-bets, and progressives, as well as card shufflers, including its newly introduced card shuffler, Pax S. The Interactive Games segment provides game content and access to its remote gaming server for real money gaming (RMG) online casino operators as well as social casino games available for desktop and mobile devices. It also offers business-to-consumer (B2C) free-to-play social casino apps.