Regulators waive waiting period for GTECH, IGT merger

U.S. REGULATORS HAVE waived the required antitrust waiting period for GTECH S.p.A.'s proposed merger with International Game Technology Inc. in Las Vegas. / PBN FILE PHOTO
U.S. REGULATORS HAVE waived the required antitrust waiting period for GTECH S.p.A.'s proposed merger with International Game Technology Inc. in Las Vegas. / PBN FILE PHOTO

PROVIDENCE – GTECH S.p.A. announced Monday that U.S. authorities have approved early termination of the required antitrust waiting period related to GTECH’s pending acquisition of Las Vegas-based International Game Technology Inc.

The $6.4 billion deal, first announced last month, will merge the two companies under a newly formed U.K. holding company and is expected to close in the first or second quarter of 2015, subject to approval by shareholders and regulators.

The Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 mandates that before certain mergers can be completed, both parties must file a notification form with the Federal Trade Commission and the antitrust division of the Department of Justice. During the waiting period that follows, generally 30 days, regulators determine whether the transaction will adversely affect U.S. commerce under the antitrust laws.

The transaction cannot close until the waiting period has passed or regulators grant early termination of the waiting period, as in the case of the GTECH-IGT merger. The decision of U.S. antitrust authorities to waive the waiting period for GTECH satisfies one of the conditions required to finalize the transaction, GTECH said, and moves the merger forward toward closure.

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Existing IGT and GTECH shareholders will own approximately 20 percent and 80 percent of the new company, respectively. The official name of the new company has not yet been announced. Following the merger of GTECH and IGT under the new U.K. holding company, the combined entity will maintain operating headquarters in Providence, Las Vegas and Rome, where GTECH S.p.A. is currently based.

GTECH Americas, which is headquartered in Providence, employs more than 1,000 people in Rhode Island.

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