Bally’s to sell Asia-facing online arm
Bally’s entered into an agreement to sell its interactive business in Asia and certain other international markets to a company formed by members of the management.
Ownership of certain intellectual property has been placed in trust and will be licensed to the Buyer for a term of five years (subject to extension). The Company will also provide the Buyer with certain transition services. The Buyer is acquiring the Carved-Out Business in exchange for a note. Bally’s will have no role in the management, operations, or governance of the Carved-Out Business.
The transaction is intended to allow Bally’s to focus its capital and resource allocation on North American and European business, and this Carved- Out Business will benefit from focused management attention and aligned ownership.
The financial impact of the transaction is not expected to be material to Adjusted EBITDA or free cash flow of the Company.
Going forward, the financial statements of the Company will only reflect licensing and royalty revenues received from the Buyer, which are expected to be lower than revenues under the current accounting treatment, but the profitability margins associated with those licensing revenues are expected to be higher as is customary in the gaming industry for IP license business models.
The expected modest decline in Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow resulting from the transaction are expected to be mitigated by cost actions to simplify Bally’s organizational structure and other cost reductions.