Private equity firm buys company behind Rhode Island lottery in $6.3B deal

Vulture capitalists buy Bally's - fasten your seatbelts

By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current

The gambling company that exclusively supplies Rhode Island’s lottery equipment and technology is being acquired by a private equity firm in a $4.1 billion, all-cash deal, according to a Friday announcement.

The acquisition by New York-based Apollo Global Management Inc. includes the gaming and digital business arm of International Game Technology PLC, along with financial services subsidiary Everi Holdings Inc. 

Under the proposed deal, set to close in the third quarter of 2025 pending federal regulatory approval, IGT will receive $4.05 billion, expected to be used to pay off debt with returns to shareholders, the company said. 

Everi shareholders will receive $14.25 per share in cash, which marks a 56% increase over its share price as of Thursday close. The combined acquisition of IGT and Everi is valued at $6.3 billion.

The deal will not have any impact on IGT’s contracts with Rhode Island Lottery, which includes a 20-year agreement to supply the state’s lottery and scratch tickets, video lottery and slot machine technology, plus a three-year contract for its sports betting app, Marc Furcolo, Rhode Island Lottery director, said in an emailed statement.

IGT’s long-term state contract requires the company to maintain a minimum 1,100-person workforce in the state, based out of its downtown Providence office building, while investing in new lottery technology.

In February, IGT and Everi entered into a $6.2 billion, multi-step deal in which IGT separated its gaming and financial technology business via a taxable spinoff to its shareholders. The spinoff was immediately merged with Everi into a new, Las Vegas-based company, also with the IGT name.

The acquisition by Apollo transfers the merged company to private ownership. Once the deal closes, IGT will change its name and stock ticker symbol, becoming a “premier pure play lottery business,” the company said.

“This transaction will allow IGT Gaming to continue to invest in and enhance its growing core segments while providing customers with a more comprehensive portfolio of offerings,” IGT’s CEO Vince Sadusky said in a statement. 

“After the closing of this transaction, IGT’s shareholders will continue to own one hundred percent of IGT’s Global Lottery business, which will be positioned for long-term success as a pure-play global lottery player with a more focused, compelling business model and optimized capital structure to drive long-term shareholder value.”

IGT’s acquisition comes just a day after Bally’s Corp. announced it was bought out for $4.6 billion by Standard General, the New York-based hedge fund owned by its largest shareholder and board chairman Soo Kim. Bally’s also has a 20-year deal with the state to operate legal gambling in partnership with IGT.

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