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Light & Wonder Mulls Possibility of Sole Listing on ASX
Posted on: February 26, 2025, 02:29h.
Last updated on: February 26, 2025, 02:43h.
- Company hired investment banks to examine the move
- It could result in two primary listings or single listing in Australia
Light & Wonder (NASDAQ: LNW) said it’s considering listing options for its shares, including adding the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) as a primary venue or having the stock trade solely there.
The gaming device manufacturer made comments to that effect in conjunction with the release of its fourth-quarter earnings — news that has the stock soaring today. Las Vegas-based Light & Wonder told investors it hired Jarden Australia and Goldman Sachs to examine listing possibilities.
The Company remains focused on enhancing the liquidity and market capitalization of its ASX listing, and as part of this will be considering both a dual primary and a sole listing on the ASX,” it said in a statement. “L&W will be seeking feedback from key stakeholders to ensure an optimal outcome for L&W shareholders.”
Light & Wonder is nearly two years removed from listing its shares in Sydney. Although that’s considered a secondary listing with the Nasdaq being the primary trading venue for the stock, the ASX listing represents 30% of the company’s market value.
More Emphasis on Australia Could Help L&W Stock
Some Australian market participants, particularly professionals, are intimately familiar with Light & Wonder, indicating it’s practical for the company to consider another primary or sole listing there as an avenue for broadening its investor base.
Additionally, Australia is viewed as a market in which investors are more willing to assign fair value to slot machine manufacturers. It’s also the home market to the largest company in the space, Aristocrat Leisure. That’s meaningful because it not only signals Aussie investors’ familiarity with gaming equities, but a willingness to potentially more appropriately value the shares than market participants in other regions.
Two gaming companies, including Aristocrat, are among the 50 largest ASX-traded listings by market capitalization. Based on its current market value of $8.64 billion, Light & Wonder would immediately join that group if it opts for a sole listing in that country.
“The ASX is a premier exchange with a strong history of supporting global gaming companies, offering access to a deep and liquid market of sophisticated investors and industry participants with a comprehensive understanding of the gaming sector. We look forward to engaging with the market and our existing shareholders to further elevate the profile of our ASX listing,” said Jamie Odell, chairman of L&W’s board of directors, in the statement.
Number of US-Listed Slot Stocks Could Decline
Should Light & Wonder opt to make the ASX the lone trading venue for its stock, the move would further shrink the universe of slot machine equities trading in the US.
PlayAGS (NYSE: AGS) is in the process of being acquired by Brightstar Capital Partners, meaning the target will be taken private. Additionally, private equity firm Apollo Global Management is buying Everi (NYSE: EVRI) and International Game Technology’s (NYSE: IGT) global gaming and PlayDigital units.
That transaction will take shares of gaming device maker Everi off the market while making the remaining IGT a lottery-focused stock.
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