One of the UK's biggest names in AWP machines, Barcrest Group, has been sold by American owner IGT to The Global Draw, part of Scientific Games. The deal was formally concluded on Thursday, although it had been widely acknowledged long before that.
The British company will now be merged into the Diversified Gaming Group, the part of Scientific Games which includes its server-based gaming companies, The Global Draw and Games Media. It will give the group the benefit of the extended games titles and intellectual properties held by Barcrest. It will also enable Barcrest to extend its influence into new pub and betting shop locations in the UK and beyond into bingo clubs and other locations.
One of the primary targets for Barcrest will be the expanding video lottery terminals business in Italy and the Czech Republic and also new technologies, offering gaming content to the internet and mobile telephones.
According to Scientific Games, in the year to June 30, 2011, Barcrest’s revenue was £41.9m, which included £23.2m in product sales and £18.7m in recurring revenue. During the same period, Barcrest’s operating income and depreciation expenses totalled £6.5m and £4.5m respectively.
