Scientific Games targets social growth with business reorganisation
 Firm says move could allow new opportunities including joint ventures, acquisitions or an IPO
Scientific Games has designated its social gaming divisions as âunrestricted subsidiariesâ under its debt agreements, as it attempts to position the company for ânew growth opportunitiesâ.
The designation means the Interactive arm of the company doesnât have to support payment of the firmâs $8.1bn of debt.
Following unrestricted designation, the social gaming entities â including Dragonplay Ltd. and Phantom EFX â will remain wholly owned by Scientific Games and continue under the leadership of Barry Cottle, CEO of Interactive and Jordan Levin, president of Interactive.
SG said the move would allow it to consider a number of new growth opportunities in the social gaming space, including âpotential new joint ventures, acquisitions, IPO, and other growth optionsâ.
Lenders may agree to the unrestricted subsidiary mechanism as an accommodation to credit-worthy borrowers.
âOur industry leading investment in innovation is paying off,â said SGâs recently-appointed CEO Kevin Sheehan.
âFollowing our company’s third consecutive quarter of revenue growth, we see this as a perfect time to accelerate momentum and explore additional opportunities to deliver greater value from this strong and rapidly growing segment of our business.”
The company’s social gaming business has generated sequential double-digit growth in each of the most recent three quarters and saw a 68% year-on-year leap in revenues for Q2.
Shares in SGÂ fell 22.6% in August, following criticism of the appointment of Sheehan who had no prior experience in the gaming industry, and was hired from Norwegian Cruise Line.