Hydra gains extension on Inspired Gaming acquisition approach

Lorne Weil

New York private equity firm, Hydra Industries (Hydra) has confirmed that it has been granted an ‘extension of the date’ by which it must complete its proposed £200 million acquisition of industry virtual games supplier Inspired Gaming Group (Inspired).

The private equity firm has been granted until the 29 December to formally process its acquisition offer.

Updating deal stakeholders, Hydra Chairman Lorne Weil commented on the update “We are excited about the level of interest we continue to see as we have met with investors.  We look forward to closing on the transaction in the coming weeks with the support of our stockholders.”

The acquisition of Inspired by Hydra was first confirmed on 14 July, the PE firm had agreed on the £200 million bid with Inspired main investor Vitruvian Partners LLP.

In its latest update, Hydra governance detailed that $45.8 million remains in its trust account reserved for the acquisition of Inspired. The New York firm has further secured $20 million from a forward equity purchase contract with an affiliate of Macquarie Capital.

Moving its deal forward, when completed Inspired investors will retain 35% of equity, with company credit lines expected to remain in place.  Hydra informed investors, that its CEO Lorne Weil would become Inspired Gaming Executive Chairman, with Luke Alvarez retaining leadership of the company.