Much of the talk at G2E Las Vegas this week has been of the ongoing consolidation of the market following major mergers and acquisitions.
Among the industry’s largest slot manufacturers, GTECH announced the acquisition of IGT, while Scientific Games purchased WMS and then surprised the market recently by revealing a deal to acquire Bally Technologies.
There have also been significant movement within the cash handling and payment solutions business, with Crane finalising the integration of MEI to create CPI, JCM Global acquiring printer company FutureLogic and the most recent news that Suzo-Happ has completed the purchase of Comesterogroup.
The suggestion is that this consolidation is a logical evolution of the market as the space is occupied by a large number of competing players. How the situation develops in the year ahead is the cause of much speculation, however, especially if we potentially see some major brand names disappear from the market.
G2E Las Vegas closes today – a full report from the show will be included in the next issue of InterGaming.
