TAB Qld. Completes Acquisition of SA TAB
TAB Queensland's (TAL) purchase of the South Australian TAB (SA TAB) is complete. As of Jan. 14, TAB Qld. has been given a license by the governor of South Australia to offer wagering and fixed-odds sports betting in the state until June 30, 2100.
TAB Qld. paid AU $43.5 for the arrangement, which gives the betting agency exclusive betting rights in South Australia until Dec. 6, 2016. Wagering taxes of 6 percent plus goods and services taxes will be extracted from the wagering revenue, and South Australian Racing will get 39 percent of the commissions from race wagering. TAB Qld. has said it hopes the acquisition will result in positive earnings per share and earn the company revenue of around AU $100 million.
On Friday, TAB Queensland's stock closed at AU $2.99.
GTECH Extends Senior Notes Offer
Lottery services company GTECH (GTK) is extending its purchase offer of up to $150 million aggregate principal amount of its 7.75 percent Series A Guaranteed Senior Notes due in 2004. It is also extending its offer on its 7.87 percent Series B Guaranteed Senior Notes due in 2007. The offer expires at midnight on Jan. 16. The original deadline was midnight on Jan. 9; as of that date, $165 million aggregate principle amount of the Series A Notes and the Series B Notes had been tendered.
IG Group First Half Results
U.K. spread betting firm IG Group is expressing disappointment this week over its recent trading performance. The company posted an 18 percent rise in first-half profits on Monday.
The company is reporting pre-tax profits of £8.4 million for the first six months to Nov. 30, which is in line with the expectations released in a trading statement in December. The company is estimated to have about half of the U.K. spread-betting market.
Chairman Stuart Wheeler said profits have been a disappointment since Nov. 30, but nonetheless expressed optimism in the company's cash position and market resilience. During the company's first half, its biggest revenue earners were financial non-betting products such as contracts for differences in equities and foreign exchange trading, which had an 81 percent increase in sales to £4 million.
IG is planning to open an Australian branch later in the year, which will be overseen by deputy chief executive Nat le Roux.
Scientific Games Rated "Strong Buy"
Scientific Games Corp. (SGM) has been given a "strong buy" rating by Lehman Brothers due to the lottery services company's success rate on the contracts it pursues.
The company, which supplies tickets and systems to lotteries, has won five of the last seven contracts it has bid on, and it will be bidding on four more contracts this year. The brokerage firm said Scientific Games' knowledge and technology infrastructure are helping it get ahead in the on-line lottery industry.
Lehman Brothers set an $11 price target on the company, whose shares closed at $8.18 on the American Stock Exchange on Friday.
Multimedia Games Stock Split
A three-for-two stock split is in store for Multimedia Games Inc. (MGAM). Shareholders as of Jan. 25 will receive an additional share of the company's common stock for every two shares of stock they own on Feb. 11. Fractions of shares will be paid in cash, the company said. Gordon Graves, chairman and chief executive, said the split means good things for the interactive bingo company, which was named the fastest growing company on the Nasdaq by USA Today on Jan. 2.
"This stock split reaffirms our belief in our ability to increase earnings and our commitment to improve our stock liquidity," he said.
Multimedia has just fewer than 8 million shares of outstanding common stock, which will increase to just fewer than 12 million shares after the split. On Friday, its stock closed at $34.46.
Crypto Buy-Back Period Ends
CryptoLogic's (CRYP) substantial issuer bid to purchase up to one million of its common shares ended Jan. 11, and the company confirmed today that it will pay for all 1 million shares at a price of CA$28 per share. President and CEO Jean Noelting expressed satisfaction at the bid's results.
"CryptoLogic's buy-back strategies have helped to create value for shareholders and add positively to earnings per share," he said. "Given that we currently trade at about 11 times this year's forecasted fully diluted earnings, our shares remain excellent value."
CryptoLogic ended up buying back 1,691,634 shares of its stock, and because of the over-subscription, shareholders who tendered their shares will have about 60 percent of their shares purchased by CryptoLogic. The number of shares purchased represents about 8 percent of Crypto's outstanding stock.
MGM Mirage Conference Call Jan. 31
MGM Mirage (MGG) will hold a fourth-quarter conference call at 11:30 EST on Jan. 31. The call will be Webcast through the company's Web site, www.mgmmirage.com as well as at www.companyboardroom.com. For seven days following the call, a replay will be available on both sites.