Austrian gaming equipment supplier Novomatic AG has extended its acquisition deadline for the Australian listed company Ainsworth Game Technology for the third time, setting February 6, 2026, as the final deadline. This decision was confirmed through a regulatory filing on January 30, marking the final stages of the acquisition aimed at full ownership of Ainsworth. According to Chapter 6 of the Australian Corporations Act 2001, this is an off-market takeover offer, and Novomatic has explicitly stated that there will be no further extensions. Relevant global gaming industry M&A compliance cases can be referenced on the PASA official website.
Core Terms and Timeline of the Acquisition
The terms of Novomatic's offer have remained stable, with the timeline adjusted three times:
Final Deadline: The offer will expire at 7 PM Sydney time on February 6, unless withdrawn earlier, marking the third extension of the acquisition timeline;
Offer Details: The cash offer per share remains at 1 Australian dollar, which was confirmed as an unconditional offer in August 2025;
Shareholding Basis: As of January 28, Novomatic and its founder Johann Graf already owned 66.59% of Ainsworth's issued capital, laying a solid foundation for a full acquisition;
Board Attitude: In September 2025, the Ainsworth independent board committee unanimously recommended shareholders accept the offer, considering it provides clear value under the current operational and market conditions.
Shareholder Disputes and Competitive Offers
Shareholder opposition and competitive offers that emerged during the acquisition process were significant reasons for the delays:
Core Resistance: Some shareholders, represented by members of the Ainsworth family, refused to accept the offer, causing delays in the acquisition process;
Competitive Offer: At the end of 2025, the founder's son Kjerulf David Hastings Ainsworth proposed a partial acquisition offer, intending to purchase 2.9% of each shareholder's stock at a price of 1.3 Australian dollars per share;
Outcome of the Offer: This competitive offer was only for a small proportion of equity and was explicitly rejected by Novomatic, with its deadline extended to January 30 (coinciding with the original acquisition deadline), and has now expired;
Potential Impact: Had other shareholders accepted Kjerulf's offer, his shareholding could have increased to about 8.1%, but with the offer's termination, the market focus has returned to Novomatic's full acquisition.
Challenges in Ainsworth's Operations and Management
Behind the acquisition battle, Ainsworth itself faces multiple pressures in business and management:
Performance Decline: Announcements in December 2025 predicted a 45.3% decline in pre-tax profits for the second half of the fiscal year, with an 11% decrease in revenue, indicating poor operational conditions;
Management Turbulence: In November 2025, CEO Harold Neumann resigned after Nevada state regulatory authorities refused to renew his gaming license;
Compliance Risks: Neumann, who had previously served as CEO of Novomatic, was reportedly under investigation by Austrian authorities for corruption allegations for several years, further exacerbating the company's management uncertainty.
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