IGT share price soars amid sale rumours
Las Vegas-based supplier's share price rose 14% on Monday following reports Morgan Stanley had been hired to lead a sale
International Game Technology’s (IGT) share price surged 14% yesterday on the back of reports the gaming supplier is preparing for a sale of the business.
According to news agency Reuters, the Las Vegas-based company appointed Morgan Stanley two months ago to handle a sale which has sparked interest from other gaming companies as well as private equity firms.
Following the reports, the company’s share price closed at US$14.31, up 14% from the start of trading in its biggest one-day jump since 2009 and valuing the company at $3.5bn.
However, IGT’s share price remains down by more than 20% for the year-to-date following a prolonged slump in revenues and profits.
IGT posted revenues of $513m (£305m) for the second quarter of 2014, a 15% year-on-year decrease, despite a strong performance from its social gaming division DoubleDown Interactive, which it bought for $500m in 2012.
Total revenues from DoubleDown were up 27% to $68.8m (£41m) for the three-month period compared with Q2 last year, which was attributed to a rise in the number of players signing up through its mobile platform.
And some analysts have suggested IGT could even spin off its social gaming arm in a similar move to Caesars spin-off of its interactive gaming division.
Earlier this year IGT laid off 7% of its global workforce as part of a cost-cutting exercise.