Tatts Group (TTS) has confirmed it is in discussions with its former Greek gaming rival Intralot, which currently provides the electronic monitoring system for all hotel and club gaming machines in Victoria, including data and information on gaming machines for regulatory, taxation and research purposes.
“These discussions have advanced to a confirmatory due-diligence stage and Intralot has agreed to conduct this process on an exclusive basis with Tatts,” Tatts said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
“In the event of any material developments Tatts will make a further announcement as required by its continuous disclosure obligations.”
Intralot, which put an end to Tatt’s monopoly when it entered the Victorian market back in 2008, had also attempted to introduce Kino, Bingo and instant scratchies in Victoria.
Not long afterwards, the Athens-based company reported major losses and faced complaints from venues about lack of software training and computer systems and launched legal action against state government, seeking $63m in damages.
Intralot also accused Tatts of having an exclusive deal with agents to put Tatts products in prime positions.
The Greek gaming group surrendered its licences at the end of 2014 after an agreement with Tatts and the state government.
The potential acquisition of Intralot’s Australian and New Zealand branches follows the recent sale of Tatts’ British slot machine business Talarius and Tabcorp’s $115 million deal to buy gaming services group Intecq.
Tabcorp and Tatts ended merger discussions late last year after failing to agree on price.
The news hasn’t been received warmly as shares in Tatts have plunged, closing 3.4 per cent lower at $3.98.
