MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Cross-border mergers & acquisitions in gambling and gaming AFTER A QUIET 2023, M&A IS SET TO INCREASE, PREDICTS PHIL SAVAGE . THAT BRINGS BOTH OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR ADVISORS TO THE PARTIES
A banker friend of mine was always happy to make long- term market forecasts. Anything longer ten years, he argued, was likely to be well beyond the end of his career, or his current role at least. He was much less confident predicting the short term ups and downs when he’d still be around to justify his valuations. Even taking this advice to heart, there are still good reasons to predict that the coming period will be a busy one in the M&A departments of the gaming industry’s biggest players. There are a number of factors combining to lend weight to the prediction, but first we should briefly examine why 2023 was quiet.
The biggest factor was, of course, the drag of higher interest rates as central banks around the world bore down on borrowing to tame the tiger of inflation. For companies sitting on significant debt piles, the impact on their room for maneuver was considerable. Now, with inflation heading downwards, rates should start to be reduced although the picture is still mixed. Interest and activity from private equity investors was another factor clipping the wings of industry consolidators. Although they faced the same hike in borrowing costs, PE funds were driven to look for opportunities in gaming by a dearth of deals in other sectors. 2023 ended with a bounce back in private equity
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IMGL MAGAZINE | APRIL 2024
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