IGT to sell contactless payment operator PostePay for 700 million euros

Concern International Game Technology (IGT) announced that its subsidiary IGT Lottery S.p.A. has signed a definitive agreement to sell its Italian contactless payment business. The PostePay operator will be owned by LIS Holding, which will pay IGT 700 million euros ($781 million). Of that, 70 million euros will be paid in cash, which is not negotiable.

IGT's board of directors has already approved the deal. However, the final sale depends on a number of formalities that have not yet been resolved. For example, the deal must be approved by the relevant authorities as well as the responsible officials. The sale agreement is expected to be signed by the parties in the third quarter of 2022.

Under the terms of the agreement, IGT will sell LIS Holding (LISPAY) two wholly owned subsidiaries. Both are now in the business of providing contactless payment services, complementing each other.

UBS AG will serve as the lead financial advisor and transaction expert for IGT. Legal advice will be provided by Advant-Nctm Group and tax advice will be provided by KPMG.

IGT CEO Vince Sadusky commented, "This transaction gives us the opportunity to monetize IGT's leadership in the contactless payment market in Italy at an attractive price. Otherwise, we continue to execute on our long-term strategy."

He also added: "Optimizing our product and solution portfolio allows us to focus our efforts and resources on core and strategic assets. Today, we are positioning IGT as an industry leader, so it will make sense to increase the company's shareholder value."

The group's CEO also noted that the business being sold will generate about €228 million in revenue in 2021.