New company NYSE listing will be EVRI
Cash-access equipment supplier Global Cash Access Holdings, Inc., which acquired Austin, Texas-based slot manufacturer Multimedia Games last year, announced a new corporate name for the merged company.
As of August 24, the company will retire both the GCA and Multimedia monikers to become Everi Holdings, Inc.
The organization-wide rebranding, together with the company’s new logo and new corporate name, reflect the merged entity’s successful transition to “a full-service casino gaming equipment and payment solutions provider focusing on a broad range of opportunities to address customers’ casino floor and technology needs,” according to a statement from the company.
The company’s new ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange will be EVRI. To celebrate the rebranding, GCA President and CEO Ram V. Chary will ring the opening bell at the exchange on August 24.
GCA’s acquisition of Multimedia Games surprised many in the industry. Multimedia, under former CEO Pat Ramsey (soon to be chief digital officer at Aristocrat Technologies), had grown from a Class II supplier into a successful and growing manufacturer of Class III slot machines, its Austin location allowing for a steady stream of engineering talent from the local University of Texas.
Multimedia’s games had been growing in popularity in many U.S. casino markets, and the company had a runaway hit with the TournEvent system, an instant tournament system equipped with cameras, leaderboards and hosts that turned slot tournaments into a cross between a sporting event and a game show. Multimedia used the system to create a national event called TournEvent of Champions, in which casinos equipped with TournEvent across the country hold satellite events leading to a finale in Las Vegas.
(This year’s fourth National TournEvent of Champions will be held at the Wynn’s XS nightclub in Las Vegas, with the winner taking home a $1 million.)
Multimedia’s success made it one of the most mentioned acquisition targets as the slot-manufacturing sector consolidated with a series of mergers over the past two years. However, most speculation had the company being acquired by another slot supplier. However, GCA, the leading supplier of ATMs, credit services and cash-access equipment to the casino industry, saw an opportunity to expand its product base, and acquired Multimedia for $1.2 billion.
Speaking in a conference call, Chary said that the name change will better reflect the company’s identity as a diversified casino supplier.
“Our new brand will provide us with the unique identity that conveys our intention to be a full-service supplier of casino gaming equipment and payment solutions,” Chary said on the conference call, adding that the new Everi will expand its research and development capabilities over the next year and a half to double its number of slot machine content studios to 16.
“When we acquired Multimedia, we viewed the strategic rationale for the transaction, including the opportunity that exists to sell Multimedia’s products into our significantly larger payments customer base,” Chary said. As a supplier of cash-access equipment, GCA already was licensed in around twice as many jurisdictions as Multimedia.
“The transition to the powerful Everi brand reflects our belief that we are a dynamic, growing organization delivering gaming, security and intelligence solutions to casino operators and engaging games and transactional security to patrons,” Chary said in last week’s press release. “The Everi brand is an important asset for us to use as we address new opportunities and expand the company’s market share.
“Everi offers a significantly greater range of product solutions to casino operators, including a growing portfolio of innovative and exciting games titles, the award-winning and perennial favorite TournEvent and TournEvent of Champions, the central system for video lottery terminals installed at facilities across New York state, and a host of secure, technology-enhanced payments solutions that help get cash to the game floor.”
Linda Trinh, vice president of marketing and promotions for GCA, added, “We see Everi’s identity to be one of confident possibilities that represents our commitment to casino operators to keep their casino floor running and buzzing, while giving patrons exciting and engaging game play. We’re excited to show off our new corporate identity and to deliver on the promise that ‘Everi Powers the Casino Floor.’”
The company will introduce the new logo mark and trademarks for Everi Holdings at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas (September 29-October 1). All of the company’s current sub-brands, including TournEvent and TournEvent of Champions for the games business and CashClub, CentralCredit and Everi Compliance (formerly NEWave) for the payments business, will continue to be supported.
Meanwhile, the online Insider Trading Report publication reported that David Lucchese, the former Bally executive who is now executive vice president of the new Everi, purchased 20,000 shares of the company on August 10. The insider buying transaction was disclosed on Aug 12 to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The shares were purchased at $5.12 per share for a total value of $102,544.
Currently, company insiders own 0.2 percent of Global Cash Access Holdings, Inc. shares.
According to analysts, Everi’s stock price is expected to reach $9 in the short term, according to the report. Last week, the stock was trading at $5.25. The 52-week high of the share price is $8.53 and the company has a market cap of $344 million. The 52-week low of the share price is at $4.58 .
