The Las Vegas company formerly known as Light & Wonder has changed its name to reflect its increased focus on online gambling. The rebranded company, now called Light & Wonder, will begin trading on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “LNW” starting from April 29, 2022.
The name change is part of Light & Wonder’s strategic vision to establish itself as a leading global game company that creates and releases top-quality games across multiple platforms. By taking a deliberate cross-platform approach, Light & Wonder offers a wide range of iconic games and franchises for online and mobile gaming, including both real money and free-to-play social gaming markets, as well as land-based casinos.
In April, Light & Wonder completed the sale of its lottery business to Brookfield for a gross cash value of $5.8 billion (£4.4 billion/€5.3 billion), resulting in approximately $5.0 billion in net after-tax cash proceeds. This strategic move allowed Light & Wonder to significantly reduce its debt by retiring a $4.0 billion term loan and redeeming $3.0 billion in secured and unsecured notes. As a result, the company’s outstanding debt has been reduced from $8.8 billion to $4.0 billion, and its net debt leverage ratio has dropped from 6.2x to below 3.9x.
In addition, Light & Wonder agreed to sell its OpenBet sports betting technology business to Endeavor for $1.20 billion. This decision follows the recent announcement of a long-term extension agreement with sports betting and gaming company Entain, which aligns with Light & Wonder’s strategic plans for 2022.
