Scientific Games Lottery Unit Attracts Interest From Brookfield, Apollo

(Bloomberg) -- Scientific Games Corp., a maker of casino slot machines, has attracted takeover interest for its global lotteries business from Brookfield Asset Management Inc.’s private equity arm and Apollo Global Management Inc., according to people familiar with the matter. 

Scientific Games has been in discussions with private equity firms about a potential sale of the lotteries unit, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information was private. The Las Vegas-based company is also considering a stock listing in Australia, Bloomberg News reported this week.

The division could have a value of up to $7.5 billion, including debt, in an initial public offering, one of the people said. It’s unclear how much the private equity firms are bidding. A final decision on a sale hasn’t been made and Scientific Games could still decide to keep the unit, the people said.

Representatives for Scientific Games, Brookfield and Apollo declined to comment. 

In a June statement, Scientific Games said it was exploring divesting its lotteries and sports-betting units via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, a sale or a strategic combination with another business, as part of a process to rein in debt. Later, it agreed to sell its sports gambling company OpenBet to Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. for $1.2 billion in cash and stock.  

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