Canada's Brookfield to buy Scientific Games' lottery unit for $6.05 billion

(Reuters) -Scientific Games Corp said on Wednesday it would sell its global lottery business to Canadian investment company Brookfield for $6.05 billion, in a move that will help it cut debt and pivot to a gaming and digital content provider.

The Las Vegas-based slot machine maker has been trimming down its business after ratcheting up $8.2 billion in net debt as of June 30. Last month, it sold its sports betting divsion, OpenBet, to Endeavor Group Holdings Inc for $1.2 billion in cash and stock.

The lotto unit deal with Brookfield Business Partners LP, the flagship listed business services and industrials company of Brookfield Asset Management, will consist of $5.83 billion in cash, Scientific Games Corp said on Wednesday.

The company would also receive an additional payment of up to $225 million based on achievement of certain profitability goals in 2022 and 2023, Scientific Games added.

“This marks a major milestone and puts us on a clear path to achieve our vision to become the leading cross-platform global game company and unlock our full value for shareholders,” Chief Executive Officer Barry Cottle said.

Reuters had earlier reported that the company was also in talks to potentially list the business in Australia, but those plans would now come to a halt with the deal.

The Scientific Games’ unit, which sells wholesale lottery system services to clients in more than 50 countries, is expected to see a 14% rise in adjusted earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation to $498 million in fiscal 2022.

“We are pleased to continue to grow our business with the acquisition of a market leader and essential service provider to governments around the world,” Brookfield Business Partners Managing Partner David Nowak said.

Brookfield said the deal for the lottery business would be funded with about $2.6 billion of equity, of which 30% will be raised through existing funds and the rest from its institutional partners.