Aristocrat Leisure to sell Plarium Global in US$820m deal with Modern Times Group
Aristocrat Leisure (ASX: ALL) subsidiary Pixel United has agreed to sell video game development company Plarium Global to Swedish digital entertainment entity Modern Times Group.
The US$820 million deal requires Plarium to make a US$600m upfront payment, with a deferred amount of US$20m payable in April 2026.
A contingent consideration of up to US$200m will depend on the achievement of certain financial targets over calendar years 2025 to 2028.
Strategic review
Aristocrat chief executive officer Trevor Croker said the sale – considered an important milestone for Aristocrat as it focuses on its core land-based gaming, real money gaming and social casino opportunities – followed a strategic review earlier this year into the company’s casual and mid-core gaming assets.
“With our expanded Aristocrat Interactive business now alongside Aristocrat Gaming and our market-leading mobile social casino business, we are increasingly focused on opportunities to leverage our strengths in regulated gaming content and social slots,” he said.
“We have incorporated a range of Plarium’s strategic capabilities and mobile content expertise into our core gaming operations over the past seven years and our ownership has driven our digital transformation, extending our track record of successfully acquiring businesses to accelerate our strategy.”
Stable fixture
Plarium has been a stable fixture in Pixel’s growth since being acquired by Aristocrat in 2017.
In the company’s unaudited financial results for the year to 30 September, it contributed approximately US$615m in revenue, US$166m in segment profit and US$110m in earnings before interest, taxation and amortisation.
Aristocrat expects the sale of Plarium to be mid- to high-single-digit percentage points dilutive to net profit after tax in the 2025 financial year on an annualised basis.
The transaction – expected to close in the first half of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions including receipt of regulatory approvals – is anticipated to enhance Aristocrat’s revenue growth rate and margins going forward.