The group had been engaged in a comprehensive review of its options to refinance €530.0m in senior secured notes and an existing RCF, both of which mature in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The amended RCF is due to run through until October 2025 and also includes a further one-year extension option.
Meanwhile, Playtech also announced it will serve notice to redeem at par on 16 November this year €330.0m of the €530.0m senior secured notes maturing in October 2023. This will be funded using current cash balances, with the amended RCF expected to remain undrawn following the early redemption.
Playtech said this partial settlement will result in cash interest savings of approximately €12.0m in 2023.
The balance of the outstanding bond will be repaid at maturity, or potentially sooner, taking the total annualised savings to €20.0m, according to Playtech.
Following the early redemption, Playtech said it will have more than €200.0m of available cash on its balance sheet, with the other material debt obligation being the €350.0m senior secured notes maturing in 2026.
“The combination of Playtech’s strong balance sheet and the high cash generation from its operations have enabled the company to carry out this efficient refinancing, in spite of challenging debt market conditions,” Playtech’s chief financial officer Andrew Smith said.
“We are pleased to have achieved this result, and to have made the significant interest savings that otherwise could have been incurred.”
The review of options to refinance the €530.0m million senior secured notes was detailed in Playtech’s H1 interim results, which were posted last month.
Also noted at the time was Playtech saying that it will put aside any plans to sell off its B2C Snaitech business, at least temporarily, after the business determined that its recent success meant it could deliver more value by remaining part of the group.
Revenue in the first half was up 73% year-on-year to €792.3m, with revenue from Snaitech specifically almost tripling to €446.0m.
The supplier had reportedly been considering a break-up of its business, including a sale of the Snaitech arm it acquired in 2018, after plans to sell the entire business fell through. The Playtech board approved an offer from land-based slots giant Aristocrat, but shareholders ultimately rejected this deal.
A group called TTB Partners then announced that it was considering a bid of its own, and received support from Playtech chief executive Mor Weizer. However, amid changing market conditions, TTB ultimately declined to submit a bid for the gambling technology giant.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/finance/playtech-refinances-debts-with-amended-e277m-credit-facility/
