Australian games provider Aristocrat Leisure Limited has announced it priced a new US$ 500m Term Loan B facility that will mature in October 2024. 

At the end of April we reported that Aristocrat had “stood down” 1,000 staff, mainly from its land-based sales, services and manufacturing operations, due to the COVID-19 crisis. The dividend for the 2020 financial year was also suspended.

According to the company, the new loan, which is expected to be settled by 21 May, will help preserve its balance sheet metrics, and will be used for general corporate purposes. 

Aristocrat says invested support the loan, which was priced with a margin of 375 basis points, and will leave the company’s debt at approximately US$2.35 billion. 

Discussing the news Aristocrat CFO, Julie Cameron-Doe, said:

“The TLB market continues to provide Aristocrat with flexibility and competitively priced debt on a covenant light basis, and we are grateful for the ongoing support of this important debt market.”

AYO.NEWS says:

While its positive news that Aristocrat has been able to secure the financing it needs to shore up its balance sheet, there’s no denying that’s an intimidating debt burden! As we speculated previously, we’re sure this crisis will lead to Aristocrat pivoting more towards its online businesses like Big Fish and Plarium. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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