{"id":226272,"date":"2022-08-12T16:18:59","date_gmt":"2022-08-12T21:18:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=226272"},"modified":"2022-08-16T17:34:43","modified_gmt":"2022-08-16T22:34:43","slug":"ags-stock-surges-on-reports-of-inspired-entertainment-takeover-bid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ags-stock-surges-on-reports-of-inspired-entertainment-takeover-bid\/","title":{"rendered":"AGS Soars on Reported Inspired Entertainment Takeover Bid"},"content":{"rendered":"

Device manufacturer AGS (NYSE:AGS) was easily one of Friday\u2019s top-performing gaming stocks, surging 25.25% on volume that was about eight times the daily average. That came on reports Inspired Entertainment (NASDAQ:INSE) is moving to acquire the Las Vegas-based slot machine maker.<\/p>\n

\"AGS
The Nasdaq market site, listing venue for Inspired Entertainment. The company is rumored to be offering $10 a share for AGS. (Image: Percepted<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Unidentified sources familiar with the matter told Reuters <\/em>Inspired offered $10 a share in cash for AGS, valuing the target at $370 million. If made and accepted, that offer implies shares of the target have much further to rise. AGS stock closed today at $7.51 — its highest closing price since March — after trading as high as $8.40.<\/p>\n

The target\u2019s market capitalization is $231.42 million as of the close of US markets today. Neither company commented on the matter. But analysts see a takeover of AGS by Inspired as credible.<\/p>\n

In our view, a potential combination of the two companies would have merit, and we believe increase INSE\u2019s overall valuation multiple, content depth, and North America cash flow mix,\u201d<\/strong> said B. Riley analyst David Bain in a note to clients today.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He rates AGS a \u201cbuy\u201d with a $14 price target<\/a>\u00a0and acknowledges the 66% premium to AGS\u2019s Thursday closing price Inspired is rumored to be offering is \u201chealthy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inspired Offer for AGS \u2018Unique Proposal\u2019<\/h2>\n

In the gaming industry, the bulk of consolidation activity over the last several years centered around land-based casino operators and sports wagering<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Conversely, mergers and acquisitions activity among slot machine makers is rare. That’s because gaming floor managers like diversification. Additionally, gaming device makers are often viewed as unappealing targets for private equity suitors. Still, analysts see merit in Inspired potentially buying AGS.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cHowever, the proposed transaction is unique in that product-wise overlap between the two companies is effectively zero. Within land-based gaming, INSE offers a server-based model focused on distributed venues, with the current land-based slot revenue profile predominately coming from Europe,\u201d noted Stifel analyst Jeffrey Stantial in a report released earlier Friday.<\/p>\n

Inspired is viewed as a play on the digital gaming boom<\/a>, It’s also seen as part of the potential growth of the North American online lottery market, which some analysts estimate could eventually surpass $11 billion in value.<\/p>\n

With AGS, \u201cINSE would be getting their hands on a steadily improving supplier with significant runway to continue taking share in premium leased and Class III markets. We also note the removal of the Apollo ownership likely yields additional addressable markets,\u201d adds Stantial.<\/p>\n

Some AGS Investors may not Be Pleased<\/h2>\n

It remains to be seen if reports are accurate that Inspired is moving on AGS, if another suitor gets involved and if Inspired lifts its offer — Stantial notes that $10 a share is low.<\/p>\n

What is clear is that some long-term AGS investors may find Inspired\u2019s offer less than inspiring. AGS went public at $16 a share, and traded as high as $32 in 2018. For its part, Inspired made clear it is mulling acquisition opportunities<\/a>. But it won’t overpay simply to get a deal done.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not going to pay a crazy price for anything,” <\/strong>CFO Steward Baker said on the company\u2019s second-quarter earnings conference call. “And we insist on there being immediate and visible synergies. So we\u2019re going to allocate capital to M&A, but only if it makes the kind of sense that we\u2019re used to doing.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Device manufacturer AGS (NYSE:AGS) was easily one of Friday\u2019s top-performing gaming stocks, surging 25.25% on volume that was about eight times the daily average. That came on reports Inspired Entertainment (NASDAQ:INSE) is moving to acquire the Las Vegas-based slot machine maker. Unidentified sources familiar with the matter told Reuters Inspired offered $10 a share in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":226273,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,32093,69293],"tags":[81903,81966,81890],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAGS Stock Surges On Reports Of Inspired Entertainment Takeover Bid<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"AGS rallies on reports Inspired Entertainment wants to buy the company.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ags-stock-surges-on-reports-of-inspired-entertainment-takeover-bid\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AGS Stock Surges On Reports Of Inspired Entertainment Takeover Bid\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"AGS rallies on reports Inspired Entertainment wants to buy the company.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ags-stock-surges-on-reports-of-inspired-entertainment-takeover-bid\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-08-12T21:18:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-08-16T22:34:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/INSE.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1555\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"692\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@etfgodfather\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ags-stock-surges-on-reports-of-inspired-entertainment-takeover-bid\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ags-stock-surges-on-reports-of-inspired-entertainment-takeover-bid\/\",\"name\":\"AGS Stock Surges On Reports Of Inspired Entertainment Takeover Bid\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ags-stock-surges-on-reports-of-inspired-entertainment-takeover-bid\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ags-stock-surges-on-reports-of-inspired-entertainment-takeover-bid\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/INSE.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-08-12T21:18:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-16T22:34:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\"},\"description\":\"AGS rallies on reports Inspired Entertainment wants to buy the company.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ags-stock-surges-on-reports-of-inspired-entertainment-takeover-bid\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ags-stock-surges-on-reports-of-inspired-entertainment-takeover-bid\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ags-stock-surges-on-reports-of-inspired-entertainment-takeover-bid\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/INSE.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/INSE.jpg\",\"width\":1555,\"height\":692,\"caption\":\"The Nasdaq market site, listing venue for Inspired Entertainment. The company is rumored to be offering $10 a share for AGS. (Image: Percepted)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ags-stock-surges-on-reports-of-inspired-entertainment-takeover-bid\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Financial\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/financial\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"AGS Soars on Reported Inspired Entertainment Takeover Bid\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\",\"name\":\"Todd Shriber\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Todd Shriber\"},\"description\":\"Todd Shriber is a senior news reporter covering gaming financials, casino business, stocks, and mergers and acquisitions for Casino.org. Todd got his start in financial markets as a reporter with Bloomberg News. Later, he became a trader at a Southern California-based long\/short hedge fund, where he specialized in the trading sector and international ETFs leading up to and during the financial crisis. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Currently, Todd analyzes, researches, and writes on ETFs for various web-based publications and financial services firms. Shriber has been featured and quoted in Barron's, CNBC.com, and The Wall Street Journal. His work can also be found on Benzinga, ETF Daily News, ETF Trends, MarketWatch, Fox Business, and Nasdaq.com. He currently resides in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golf and taking his black lab to the dog park. He's also an avid sports fan and likes to wager on college football and the NBA. You can also find him at the three-card poker and roulette table, even though he knows better. Contact Todd at todd.shriber@casino.org.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/muckrack.com\/todd-shriber\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/toddshriber\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/etfgodfather\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/todd-shriber\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"AGS Stock Surges On Reports Of Inspired Entertainment Takeover Bid","description":"AGS rallies on reports Inspired Entertainment wants to buy the company.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ags-stock-surges-on-reports-of-inspired-entertainment-takeover-bid\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"AGS Stock Surges On Reports Of Inspired Entertainment Takeover Bid","og_description":"AGS rallies on reports Inspired Entertainment wants to buy the company.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ags-stock-surges-on-reports-of-inspired-entertainment-takeover-bid\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2022-08-12T21:18:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-08-16T22:34:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1555,"height":692,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/INSE.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Todd Shriber","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@etfgodfather","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Todd Shriber","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ags-stock-surges-on-reports-of-inspired-entertainment-takeover-bid\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ags-stock-surges-on-reports-of-inspired-entertainment-takeover-bid\/","name":"AGS Stock Surges On Reports Of Inspired Entertainment Takeover Bid","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ags-stock-surges-on-reports-of-inspired-entertainment-takeover-bid\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ags-stock-surges-on-reports-of-inspired-entertainment-takeover-bid\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/INSE.jpg","datePublished":"2022-08-12T21:18:59+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-16T22:34:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85"},"description":"AGS rallies on reports Inspired Entertainment wants to buy the company.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ags-stock-surges-on-reports-of-inspired-entertainment-takeover-bid\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ags-stock-surges-on-reports-of-inspired-entertainment-takeover-bid\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ags-stock-surges-on-reports-of-inspired-entertainment-takeover-bid\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/INSE.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/INSE.jpg","width":1555,"height":692,"caption":"The Nasdaq market site, listing venue for Inspired Entertainment. The company is rumored to be offering $10 a share for AGS. (Image: Percepted)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ags-stock-surges-on-reports-of-inspired-entertainment-takeover-bid\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Financial","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/financial\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"AGS Soars on Reported Inspired Entertainment Takeover Bid"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85","name":"Todd Shriber","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png","caption":"Todd Shriber"},"description":"Todd Shriber is a senior news reporter covering gaming financials, casino business, stocks, and mergers and acquisitions for Casino.org. Todd got his start in financial markets as a reporter with Bloomberg News. Later, he became a trader at a Southern California-based long\/short hedge fund, where he specialized in the trading sector and international ETFs leading up to and during the financial crisis. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Currently, Todd analyzes, researches, and writes on ETFs for various web-based publications and financial services firms. Shriber has been featured and quoted in Barron's, CNBC.com, and The Wall Street Journal. His work can also be found on Benzinga, ETF Daily News, ETF Trends, MarketWatch, Fox Business, and Nasdaq.com. He currently resides in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golf and taking his black lab to the dog park. He's also an avid sports fan and likes to wager on college football and the NBA. You can also find him at the three-card poker and roulette table, even though he knows better. Contact Todd at todd.shriber@casino.org.","sameAs":["https:\/\/muckrack.com\/todd-shriber","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/toddshriber\/","https:\/\/x.com\/etfgodfather"],"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/todd-shriber\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226272"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226272\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}