Allwyn to acquire the Camelot Lottery Solutions Group from Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board

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Dec 22, 2022, 08:18 ET

CHICAGO and LUZERN, Switzerland, Dec. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Allwyn AG ("Allwyn"), Europe's leading lottery operator, and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board ("Ontario Teachers'") today announced that Allwyn has agreed to acquire the Camelot Lottery Solutions group of companies (the "Camelot LS Group"), currently owned by Ontario Teachers'.

The Camelot LS Group, headquartered in Chicago, operates the Illinois Lottery under a private management agreement through its operating company, Camelot Illinois LLC, and partners with the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery to enhance its lottery operations. Furthermore, the group includes a technology arm that provides products and services to lotteries and their players throughout Europe and North America. No changes are planned to the Camelot LS Group leadership team in connection with the transaction, and the business will continue to enhance the performance of the lotteries it supports. Following the transaction, the proven leadership team will have access to the in-depth experience developed by Allwyn over more than a decade of operating and improving lotteries across Europe.

"We remain committed to serving our customers, engaging players and growing lottery revenue to benefit the communities they serve," said Camelot LS Group Chief Executive, Wayne Pickup. "As the private manager of the Illinois Lottery, we work closely with the Department of Lottery to drive responsible and sustainable growth to maximize revenue for the State of Illinois. Combining the resources, expertise, and talent of Allwyn and Camelot LS Group will only strengthen the results we help the State of Illinois and all our customers achieve."

Robert Chvátal, CEO of Allwyn, added, "We have always viewed the US market as an important part of Allwyn's future growth story, and the acquisition of Camelot LS Group, is the right step. Allwyn's goal is building better lotteries, and helping them raise more for good causes, through innovation, technology, efficiency and safety in our quest for enhanced player engagement. Both Allwyn and Camelot share a passion about the lottery business, delivering value to our customers, and growing lottery returns to communities."

Allwyn operates lotteries in Austria, the Czech Republic, Greece and Cyprus and Italy. Camelot Group is an affiliate of Camelot UK Lotteries Limited ("Camelot UK"), which Allwyn agreed to acquire from Ontario Teachers' last month. Camelot UK is the current operator of the UK National Lottery under a license that runs until 31 January 2024. Earlier this year, a subsidiary of Allwyn was awarded the license to operate the UK National Lottery under the Fourth License, which runs from 1 February 2024 for 10 years.

Upon completion of the transaction, the companies of the Camelot LS Group will become wholly owned subsidiaries of Allwyn. The transaction is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2023, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Media inquiries

Jonathan Hoffmann, Allwyn
[email protected]

Paul Durman, Brunswick
[email protected] or: +44 7793 522824

Nick Cosgrove, Brunswick
[email protected] or: +44 7974 982306

Henrietta Dehn, Ontario Teachers'
[email protected]

About Allwyn

Allwyn is a leading global lottery operator. Allwyn builds better lotteries that return more to good causes by focusing on innovation, technology, efficiency and safety across a growing casual gaming entertainment portfolio. The lottery-first approach of focusing on affordable recreational play has earned Allwyn leading market positions with trusted brands across Europe in Austria, Czech Republic, Greece and Cyprus, and Italy. Following a successful tender process earlier this year, Allwyn is set to become the operator of the UK National Lottery from February 2024.

About Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (OTPP) is a global investor with net assets of $242.5 billion as of June 30, 2022. We invest in more than 50 countries in a broad array of assets including public and private equities, fixed income, credit, commodities, natural resources, infrastructure, real estate and venture growth to deliver retirement income for 333,000 working members and pensioners.

With offices in Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, San Francisco, Singapore and Toronto, our more than 350 investment professionals bring deep expertise in industries ranging from agriculture to artificial intelligence. We are a fully funded defined benefit pension plan and have earned an annual total-fund net return of 9.6% since the plan's founding in 1990. At OTPP, we don't just invest to make a return, we invest to shape a better future for the teachers we serve, the businesses we back, and the world we live in. For more information, visit otpp.com and follow us on Twitter @OtppInfo.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement may include forward-looking statements regarding certain of our plans and our current goals, intentions, beliefs and expectations concerning, among other things, our future results of operation, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies, pending acquisitions or other transactions (including regarding the completion of the announced acquisition of the Camelot Lottery Solutions Group), financing plans and the industries in which we operate. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current facts. Generally, but not always, words such as "may," "could," "should," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "assume," "believe," "plan," "seek," "continue," "target," "goal," "would" or their negative variations or similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. We caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity and the development of the industries in which we operate may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement. In addition, even if our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity and the development of the industries in which we operate are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this document, those past results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in future periods. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described in the "Risk Factors" section of the annual report published by Allwyn International a.s. and other documents we publish on our website. Most of these factors are outside our control and are difficult to predict.

We do not undertake any obligation to review, update or confirm expectations or estimates or to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that arise after the date of this document.