European Event-Driven Analyst

Jesus Rodriguez Aguilar

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>Court and EGM meetings are scheduled 2 February. Aristocrat is the only suitor remaining.  Some investors in Playtech who anticipated a bidding war aren't too keen to support the deal.</li>
<li>The Board threatens with a break-up and auction of both Snaitech and the B2B white label software division. Analysts believe that the business is worth more than the current offer.</li>
<li>Reiterate long PTEC LN, TP 680/share (Aristocrat offer), with the potential upside risk of a sweetened offer to placate some investors, or a break-up.</li>
</ul>


Court and EGM meetings are scheduled 2 February. Aristocrat is the only suitor remaining.  Some investors in Playtech who anticipated a bidding war aren't too keen to support the deal.
The Board threatens with a break-up and auction of both Snaitech and the B2B white label software division. Analysts believe that the business is worth more than the current offer.
Reiterate long PTEC LN, TP 680/share (Aristocrat offer), with the potential upside risk of a sweetened offer to placate some investors, or a break-up.


Aristocrat/Playtech: Deal Uncertainty but the Shares Are Inexpensive

<ul>
<li>Since <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/playtech-plc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22099:1" rel="noopener">Playtech Plc (PTEC LN)</a> started putting its house in order, it is receiving a lot of interest, in a sector that has attracted M&amp;A activity in 2020 and 2021.</li>
<li>Assuming the potential offer is at an EV of £3 billion, the potential offer price would be c. 830p. Shares offer an 8.9% 22e FCF yield.</li>
<li>I have revised my valuation following interest in the company. Median implied EV/Fwd EBITDA TP is 841p, c.24% higher than offer from Aristocrat, in line with that suggested by Gopher.</li>
</ul>


Since Playtech Plc (PTEC LN) started putting its house in order, it is receiving a lot of interest, in a sector that has attracted M&amp;A activity in 2020 and 2021.
Assuming the potential offer is at an EV of £3 billion, the potential offer price would be c. 830p. Shares offer an 8.9% 22e FCF yield.
I have revised my valuation following interest in the company. Median implied EV/Fwd EBITDA TP is 841p, c.24% higher than offer from Aristocrat, in line with that suggested by Gopher.


Global Gaming and Casinos Industry Specialist, Casino Business Review LLC

Howard J Klein

Global Gaming and Casinos Industry Specialist

Casino Business Review LLC

Extensive experience in marketing and development in the Asian gaming market

Global Gaming and Casinos Industry

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>With its vaccination rate now over 75%, Australia is still locked down to foreign tourism. But relative freedom internally has propelled strong results.</li>
<li>Two Aussie gaming companies pose excellent upsides here: Aristocrat Leisure in gaming equipment and digital entertainment and Crown Resorts, getting a new bid.</li>
<li>Downside risk minimal with vibrant results from home markets, upside will be driven on bet that pandemic endgame may be closer than market sentiment on these stocks assume.</li>
</ul>


With its vaccination rate now over 75%, Australia is still locked down to foreign tourism. But relative freedom internally has propelled strong results.
Two Aussie gaming companies pose excellent upsides here: Aristocrat Leisure in gaming equipment and digital entertainment and Crown Resorts, getting a new bid.
Downside risk minimal with vibrant results from home markets, upside will be driven on bet that pandemic endgame may be closer than market sentiment on these stocks assume.


Australia Gaming Outlook: Two Stocks to Watch with Strong Upside Possibilities

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements, Aequitas Research

Sumeet Singh

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements

IPOs and Placements coverage across Asia Pacific

Aequitas Research

We cover all listing across the Asia Pacific along with follow-up placements. As of Dec 2020, our team had covered 539 IPOs with a hit rate of 73.5% and 685 placements with a hit rate of 66.8%.

We combine fundamental bottom-up views with our proprietary quantitative framework to provide a holistic coverage across new listings and placements. Our coverage includes pre-IPO notes before the deal is launched, follow-up analysis once the deal is live and post-listing trading analysis as well.

Equity Capital Markets

APM Human Services / Equity Capital Markets

APM, an international human services provider, aims to raise around US$730m via a mix of selling primary and secondary shares in its Australian IPO. APM runs 800 sites spanning 10 countries with its largest market being Australia. In FY21, APM supported over one million individuals which included 600,000 jobseekers; 180,000 people with disabilities; 100,000 people with mental health needs; 50,000 offenders and ex-offenders; and 30,000 veterans. APM’s main services include: Employment services, Health and Wellbeing, Communities and Assessment and Disability and Aged care support services. Its revenue grew by 49% YoY in FY20 and was up another 28% in FY21 and is expected to grow by 31% in FY22. Its EBITDA and NPATA growth have been even stronger with EBITDA growing at 50%+ each year while NPATA has more than doubled in each of the past two years. Going forward, APM expects its revenue to grow by 31% YoY in FY22, with services margin growing by 27.7% YoY, EBITDA by 26% and NPATA by 20.7% YoY.However, most of the past growth has been driven by M&amp;A and the company hasn’t been very forthcoming with data disclosures. Moreover, both of its largest contracts are due for an overhaul in 2022-23 which could impact its earnings.

APM, an international human services provider, aims to raise around US$730m via a mix of selling primary and secondary shares in its Australian IPO. APM runs 800 sites spanning 10 countries with its largest market being Australia. In FY21, APM supported over one million individuals which included 600,000 jobseekers; 180,000 people with disabilities; 100,000 people with mental health needs; 50,000 offenders and ex-offenders; and 30,000 veterans. APM’s main services include: Employment services, Health and Wellbeing, Communities and Assessment and Disability and Aged care support services. Its revenue grew by 49% YoY in FY20 and was up another 28% in FY21 and is expected to grow by 31% in FY22. Its EBITDA and NPATA growth have been even stronger with EBITDA growing at 50%+ each year while NPATA has more than doubled in each of the past two years. Going forward, APM expects its revenue to grow by 31% YoY in FY22, with services margin growing by 27.7% YoY, EBITDA by 26% and NPATA by 20.7% YoY.However, most of the past growth has been driven by M&amp;A and the company hasn’t been very forthcoming with data disclosures. Moreover, both of its largest contracts are due for an overhaul in 2022-23 which could impact its earnings.

APM Human Services IPO - Strong past Growth but Has Ample Unhappy Employees and Clients

<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/playtech-plc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22099:1" rel="noopener">Playtech Plc (PTEC LN)</a>'s shareholders have won big time at the casino table. On late Sunday 17 October, Playtech, a FTSE 250 white label gambling-technology company, said that it has agreed to a £2.1 billion takeover from Australian slot machine manufacturer <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/aristocrat-leisure-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10303:1" rel="noopener">Aristocrat Leisure (ALL AU)</a> through its subsidiary Aristocrat (UK) Holdings Ltd. The acquisition is to be effected by means of a scheme of arrangement under Part X of the Isle of Man Companies Act 2006. Aristocrat's offer is its fourth bid, but the first one to be made public.
<div>
Under the offer, accepting shareholders of Playtech will get 680p/share in cash, cum dividend, a 58% premium to the closing price of 429.20p on Friday 15 October.
</div>
The offer puts an enterprise value on Playtech of £2.7 billion. Gambling companies are rushing to profit off the deregulated gambling market in the USA, which is forecast to become one of the biggest betting and gaming markets in the world. The USA online gambling market was valued at USD 2,178 million in 2020, and it is estimated to have a CAGR of 17.34% during the period 2021-2026 (source: Mordor Intelligence). Online betting is expected to be the fastest-growing segment during 2021-2026. Software providers are embarking on M&amp;A to achieve consolidation and optimise their product portfolio. See <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/mgm-s-prospective-offer-for-entain" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:46752" rel="noopener">MGM's Prospective Offer for Entain</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/enlabs-entain-raised-offer" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:48838" rel="noopener">Enlabs - Entain: Raised Offer</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/draftkings-entain-cash-and-shares-approach" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:57963" rel="noopener">DraftKings/Entain: Cash and Shares Approach</a>. The Americas are driving the growth of Playtech.
The deal should allow Aristocrat to gain scale and increase offering in both Aristocrat’s casino business and the online sports betting market in the USA, where Playtech has recently expanded in response to more relaxed rules allowing online gambling and sports betting. Aristocrat expects to realise additional EPS in the high single digits in the first year after purchase.
Playtech's est. WACC is 9.2% vs a LTM ROIC of 4.6%. This means that the company destroys value as it grows. Aristocrat est. WACC is 9.6% vs. a LTM ROIC of 4.5%. Like Playtech, it destroys value as it grows. This may be the reason why Aristocrat is seeking scale.
I value Playtech using a SOTP model (gaming business valued at sector multiples and Financials business in line with financial trading peers and call options related to Latin America structured agreements at book value). My estimate of fair value is 590p.
Paraphrasing the Chairman of Playtech, the deal provides an attractive opportunity for shareholders to cash the chips. This is a done deal, as shareholders are highly likely to approve it, in my view. Gross spread is just 0.4%. I would wait for share price weakness before establishing a position.
Playtech was in the process of streamlining and divesting poor performing divisions (Finalto), thus becoming more attractive and the latest London-listed gambling company to be targeted for a takeover, as operators rush to build scale and break into the USA. 2021 has seen the takeover of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/william-hill-plc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22210:1" rel="noopener">William Hill (WMH LN)</a> (<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/william-hill-caesars-almost-done-deal-trading-above-terms" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:43809" rel="noopener">William Hill - Caesars (Almost) Done Deal, Trading Above Terms</a>), and two attempts on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/entain-plc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:23926:1" rel="noopener">Entain (ENT LN)</a>.

Playtech Plc (PTEC LN)'s shareholders have won big time at the casino table. On late Sunday 17 October, Playtech, a FTSE 250 white label gambling-technology company, said that it has agreed to a £2.1 billion takeover from Australian slot machine manufacturer Aristocrat Leisure (ALL AU) through its subsidiary Aristocrat (UK) Holdings Ltd. The acquisition is to be effected by means of a scheme of arrangement under Part X of the Isle of Man Companies Act 2006. Aristocrat's offer is its fourth bid, but the first one to be made public.

Under the offer, accepting shareholders of Playtech will get 680p/share in cash, cum dividend, a 58% premium to the closing price of 429.20p on Friday 15 October.

The offer puts an enterprise value on Playtech of £2.7 billion. Gambling companies are rushing to profit off the deregulated gambling market in the USA, which is forecast to become one of the biggest betting and gaming markets in the world. The USA online gambling market was valued at USD 2,178 million in 2020, and it is estimated to have a CAGR of 17.34% during the period 2021-2026 (source: Mordor Intelligence). Online betting is expected to be the fastest-growing segment during 2021-2026. Software providers are embarking on M&amp;A to achieve consolidation and optimise their product portfolio. See MGM's Prospective Offer for Entain and Enlabs - Entain: Raised Offer and DraftKings/Entain: Cash and Shares Approach. The Americas are driving the growth of Playtech.
The deal should allow Aristocrat to gain scale and increase offering in both Aristocrat’s casino business and the online sports betting market in the USA, where Playtech has recently expanded in response to more relaxed rules allowing online gambling and sports betting. Aristocrat expects to realise additional EPS in the high single digits in the first year after purchase.
Playtech's est. WACC is 9.2% vs a LTM ROIC of 4.6%. This means that the company destroys value as it grows. Aristocrat est. WACC is 9.6% vs. a LTM ROIC of 4.5%. Like Playtech, it destroys value as it grows. This may be the reason why Aristocrat is seeking scale.
I value Playtech using a SOTP model (gaming business valued at sector multiples and Financials business in line with financial trading peers and call options related to Latin America structured agreements at book value). My estimate of fair value is 590p.
Paraphrasing the Chairman of Playtech, the deal provides an attractive opportunity for shareholders to cash the chips. This is a done deal, as shareholders are highly likely to approve it, in my view. Gross spread is just 0.4%. I would wait for share price weakness before establishing a position.
Playtech was in the process of streamlining and divesting poor performing divisions (Finalto), thus becoming more attractive and the latest London-listed gambling company to be targeted for a takeover, as operators rush to build scale and break into the USA. 2021 has seen the takeover of William Hill (WMH LN) (William Hill - Caesars (Almost) Done Deal, Trading Above Terms), and two attempts on Entain (ENT LN).

Aristocrat/Playtech: Cashing in the Chips

Australia

Aristocrat Leisure Limited manufactures and sells gaming machines in Australia and internationally.  The Company also supplies gaming systems, software, table gaming equipment and other gaming related products and services to casinos, clubs and hotels.

Price Gauge
52-week Range	0.00 - 0.00
Market Cap (USDm)	0.00
P/E	0.00
Dividend (Yield)	0.00

Aristocrat Leisure (ALL AU)

Aristocrat/Playtech: Deal Uncertainty but the Shares Are Inexpensive

Reiterate long PTEC LN, TP 680/share on the basis of the Aristocrat offer, with the potential upside risk of a sweetened offer or a break-up...

Jesus Rodriguez Aguilar

More Suitors for Playtech

Playtech is up 82% so far in 2021, trading c. 10% above Aristocrat's offer. The market gives credit to Gopher's approach, which could come at c. 830p.

Jesus Rodriguez Aguilar

Australia Gaming Outlook: Two Stocks to Watch with Strong Upside Possibilities

Bith Aristocrat and Crown are outstanding Australian gaming assets and both are undervalued for different reasons. But mainly, progress on travel...

Howard J Klein

APM Human Services IPO - Strong past Growth but Has Ample Unhappy Employees and Clients

APM, an international human services provider, aims to raise around US$730m in its Australian IPO. APM runs 800 sites spanning 10 countries with...

Sumeet Singh

Aristocrat/Playtech: Cashing in the Chips

Shareholders are highly likely to cash in the chips, in my view. Gross spread is just 0.4%. Wait for share price weakness. London-listed gambling...

Jesus Rodriguez Aguilar

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)