Nonetheless, the results were filed significantly later than they were anticipated, which led to warnings from the NASDAQ. 

The results did indicate that the firm enjoyed revenue growth of 14.7 per cent to $323m. Elevated expenditure did however lead to net income declining slightly for the group, from $20.6m to $7.6m.

Lorne Weil, Executive Chairman of Inspired, said: “Our fourth quarter performance capped off a strong year, fueled by our successful strategic focus on scaling our higher-margin digital verticals alongside steady growth in our land-based operations.

“Our digital business fourth quarter results continue to be led by the Interactive segment, where revenue and Adjusted EBITDA increased approximately 41 per cent and 39 per cent year-over-year on a constant currency basis, respectively, as we continue to increase our footprint through new customer launches and benefit from the growth of our existing customer base.”

The group also lauded its new igaming product, Hybrid Dealer, which was unveiled this year. The RNG-generated table and gameshow content was tapped into by BetMGM in New Jersey and seeks to combine physical and digital elements offering operators the product.

Praising the firm’s land based efficiency, Weil added: “We continue to benefit from the optimisation of our land-based operations and the roll-out of our new ‘Vantage’ terminals. Our land-based business, which includes our Gaming and Leisure segments, recorded strong year-over-year revenue growth of 6 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively. 

“During the quarter, we entered into $3.5m of ‘low margin’ terminal sales, whereby products sold today will secure longer term recurring revenue streams utilising an asset-light model. We continue to see low double digit year-over-year revenue per machine increases with these new ‘Vantage’ cabinet deployments across two of our largest licensed betting shop customers. In our pubs business, we expect to benefit from more of these ‘Vantage’ placements during the back half of 2024. As we look ahead, the success of our ‘Vantage’ cabinet rollout gives us confidence in ongoing growth across our land-based gaming portfolio.”

Weil concluded, “As the global online betting and gaming ecosystem continues evolving, with some new markets opening and consumer adoption increasing, we see opportunities for continued growth. Our market-leading Virtual Sports products, distinctly innovative igaming offerings like Hybrid Dealer, and unmatched content portfolio position us at the head of this digital transformation. We are excited about the opportunities ahead as we seek to capitalise on the expanding online betting and gaming markets globally.”

The publishing of today’s results will be viewed as a key boost to the stability of the firm, after previous delays in the past two years were reportedly down to inaccuracies, due to accountancy errors, of which the firm has been focused on fixing ahead of the publishing of this latest set of results. 

Furthermore, in spite of the late publishing, the results come in time to save the firm’s status on the NASDAQ as it avoids the most stringent punishment, its removal from the platform.

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Prior to expiration, an aggregate of 14,351,588 warrants were exercised to acquire the company’s common stock, resulting in the issuance of 3,679,015 shares (including 1,027,836 million shares issued pursuant to exercises of private warrants on a cashless basis) and proceeds to Inspired of $30.5m.

Lorne Weil, executive chairman of Inspired, stated: “The aggregate proceeds of $30.5m from the exercise of our warrants demonstrate the progress Inspired has made as a company as well as the confidence of our investors in our business, on a going forward basis. 

“We believe the enhanced financial flexibility we will have going forward as a result of these proceeds will position us well to pursue our strategic goals.”

The expiration of its warrants follows on from Inspired linking with Rush Street Interactive just before Christmas in a framework agreement which will see the content provider supply its interactive games to the US-based operator. 

The partnership between the two companies will see Inspired’s interactive content integrated onto the RSI game platform, with its titles made available in multiple North American jurisdictions, including New Jersey and Michigan, with West Virginia soon to follow. 

Moreover, as part of the deal, RSI will launch with four of Inspired’s titles, including Santa King Megaways and Christmas Cashpots, as well as Big Spin Bonus.

In addition to the above, earlier this year, Okto expanded its network of gaming machines in the UK leisure sector that accept the company’s app for mobile cashless payments as it signed a strategic agreement with Inspired. 

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As a result of the closure, Inspired states that it plans to draw on each organisation’s core strengths to broaden offerings, bring differentiated products to new sectors and geographies, accelerate key growth initiatives and offer enhanced capabilities, systems, field service and content.

NTG comprises Gamestec Leisure, Playnation, Astra Games, Bell-Fruit Group, Harlequin Gaming and Innov8 Gaming, with Inspired stressing that it expects to achieve between $12.3m to $13.3m of synergies through shared costs and increased scale.

Inspired will now supply gaming systems with associated terminals and content for more than 58,000 machines located in betting shops, pubs, gaming halls and other route operations, virtual sports products through more than 44,000 retail channels, digital games for more than 100 websites and a variety of amusement entertainment solutions with a total installed base of more than 19,000 devices.

“This acquisition is transformational for Inspired as it unites two highly complementary businesses to create a company that we expect to be a leader in the gaming industry with innovative content, state-of-the-art technology and an expansive footprint,” commented Lorne Weil, executive chairman of Inspired.  

“We see significant opportunities across the combined companies to accelerate our growth, expand our reach and set new standards for innovation and service in the industry.

“The larger scale of the combined organisation will offer a one-stop service for gaming, virtual sports, interactive and leisure products – and a complete gaming solution that operators can use to reach players wherever they are, whenever they want to play and in any channel they choose. We expect to be able to deliver meaningful value to our shareholders as the acquisition is integrated.”

To acquire NTG, Inspired paid approximately €104.6m in cash. In connection with the acquisition, the firm entered into a new term loan facility for £140m and €90m and a £20m revolving credit facility. 

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This comes after the non-ministerial government department announced it was investigating the proposed transaction in July, citing that it was to judge whether creating the enlarged organisation would result in a significant lessening of competition within the UK market.

Inspired announced that a definitive agreement was in place on June 11, with the CMA’s approval representing a critical requirement to complete the transaction.

Following this announcement, the company expects to complete the NTG acquisition around October 1, 2019, subject to the satisfaction of the remaining customary closing conditions.

“We are pleased to have received approval from the CMA and are grateful for their diligence and efficiency in reviewing the transaction,” commented Lorne Weil, executive chairman of Inspired.  

“The anticipated successful completion of this acquisition is expected to be an exciting step forward in the evolution of Inspired into a global gaming company with a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, and world-class functional expertise in the gaming industry.”

The purchase of the Novomatic Group division, which supplies category B3, C and D gaming terminals to pubs, arcades, motorway service areas and holiday resorts in the UK, sees Inspired be set to manage in excess of 75,000 gaming machines across the region and Europe.

NTG comprises Gamestec Leisure, Playnation, Astra Games, Bell-Fruit Group, Harlequin Gaming and Innov8 Gaming, with Inspired stressing that it expects to achieve between $12.3m to $13.3m of synergies through shared costs and increased scale.

Outlining plans to “draw on the core strengths of Inspired and NTG,” as a result of the transaction the former is striving to broaden offerings, bring differentiated gaming products to new sectors and geographies, accelerate key growth initiatives and offer enhanced capabilities, systems, field service and content.

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The non-ministerial government department is to look over the purchase until September 20, when it will be decided whether a phase two investigation is warranted, with interested parties invited to issue a comment on the deal until Thursday August 8.

Assessing whether the transaction, if carried into effect, would “result in the creation of a relevant merger situation under the merger provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002,” the CMA is to judge whether creating the enlarged organisation would result in a significant lessening of competition within the UK market.

Issuing a commencement notice, the CMA notes that: “The Competition and Markets Authority hereby gives notice pursuant to section 96(2A) of the Act that the merger notice provided by Inspired Entertainment Inc and Novomatic UK in relation to the anticipated acquisition by Inspired Entertainment Inc of certain business of Novomatic Limited, including Astra Games Ltd (excluding its casino business), Bell Fruit Group Ltd, Gamestec Leisure Limited, Harlequin Gaming Limited, Playnation Limited and Innov8 Gaming Limited, meets the requirements of section 96(2) of the act. 

“The initial period defined in section 34ZA(3) of the Act in relation to the Merger will therefore commence on the first working day after the date of this notice, ie on 26 July 2019. The deadline for the CMA to announce its decision whether to refer the merger for a phase two investigation is therefore 20 September 2019.” 

Lorne Weil, executive chairman of Inspired Entertainment, said at the time of the deal initially being agreed: “The potential acquisition of NTG is transformational for Inspired, enabling us to dramatically increase the size, scale and scope of our business by combining our highly complementary, but largely non-overlapping, businesses.

“We expect to leverage our superior game content, technology, operational capabilities and respective footprints to augment the existing growth trends for our enterprise.”

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The purchase of the Novomatic Group division, which supplies category B3, C and D gaming terminals to pubs, arcades, motorway service areas and holiday resorts in the UK, sees Inspired be set to manage in excess of 75,000 gaming machines across the region and Europe.

NTG comprises Gamestec Leisure, Playnation, Astra Games, Bell-Fruit Group, Harlequin Gaming and Innov8 Gaming, with Inspired stressing that it expects to achieve between $12.3m to $13.3m of synergies through shared costs and increased scale.

Outlining plans to “draw on the core strengths of Inspired and NTG,” as a result of the transaction the former is striving to broaden offerings, bring differentiated gaming products to new sectors and geographies, accelerate key growth initiatives and offer enhanced capabilities, systems, field service and content.

Furthermore the company has also emphasised an aim of making efficient use of shared manufacturing, engineering, software development, field maintenance and customer service to drive growth and cost savings after the transaction closes.

Lorne Weil, executive chairman of Inspired Entertainment, explained: “The potential acquisition of NTG is transformational for Inspired, enabling us to dramatically increase the size, scale and scope of our business by combining our highly complementary, but largely non-overlapping, businesses.

“We expect to leverage our superior game content, technology, operational capabilities and respective footprints to augment the existing growth trends for our enterprise.

“Inspired and NTG currently operate in different segments but have much in common in terms of providing resources for our customers and their consumers.  This combination would provide additional resources for our core businesses, and combine the great content and machine portfolio from each. We expect to be able to deliver meaningful value to our shareholders as the acquisition is integrated.”

Pending regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions the acquisition is expected to be finalised during this year’s third quarter, but will exclude the casino assets of Astra Games.

“The proposed financing is at a lower interest rate than our existing debt and is a major step in improving Inspired’s capital structure,” added Stewart Baker, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Inspired.  

“Pro forma for the acquisition, adjusting for the mid-point of estimated run-rate annual synergies, the proposed financing implies net leverage of 3.0x. It will position us with a stronger balance sheet and extended maturities, while also reducing our cost of capital which we believe will allow us to have more flexibility to capitalise on meaningful opportunities to grow our business.”

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