Supplier News
US – Bally completes SHFL acquisition
By Phil - 26 November 2013
Bally Technologies has now completed its purchase of SHFL entertainment as it strives to create what Ramesh Srinivasan, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bally, describes as a ‘world-class end-to-end gaming technology company.’
Commenting on the deal, Mr. Srinivasan said: “We are pleased to announce that Bally Technologies has completed the acquisition of SHFL entertainment, executing on our vision to create a world-class end-to-end gaming technology company. Bally and SHFL will continue to operate under the combined corporate company name of Bally Technologies. Both companies have a long history of innovation and have evolved to provide our customers with a superior portfolio of products within an ever-changing and competitive landscape. This transformative, value-creating combination will only enhance our ability to serve you and your patrons even better as the industry evolves into the future.”
“We will now be able to provide a much broader suite of world-class gaming products and services under our combined company, and we look forward to discussing those in greater depth with you in the near future,” he added. “However, the way in which our business is conducted remains the same. This includes sales relationships, service, and product support structures.”
The combined portfolio now includes electronic gaming machines for sale, gaming operations (leased gaming machines, including wide-area progressives); systems; iGaming technology including state-of-the-art iGaming platform and Remote Gaming Server solutions; iGaming table and slot content; proprietary table games, side bets and progressives; electronic table systems; automatic card shufflers; deck checkers, intelligent card-reading shoes, and roulette chip sorters.
“We remain very bullish and positive about our future and the extent of value we can bring to you with a broad-based set of best-of-breed products and world-class customer support and services,” Mr. Srinivasan added. “With complementary product lines, a shared commitment to innovation, and outstanding talent pools focused on quality and responsive customer service and support, I have no doubt that this combination of Bally and SHFL will be good for our valued customer, and our industry.”
The new senior executive team has been announced and includes several new additions to the Bally executive team
Senior Vice President for Law and Government, Secretary, and General Counsel Mark Lerner will retire effective December 31, 2013 and SHFL’s General Counsel and Executive Vice President Katie Lever will become Senior Vice President of Legal and Compliance, Secretary, and General Counsel, effective January 1, 2014.
Senior Vice President of Business Development and Interactive John Connelly, who has more than 20 years’ experience in the global gaming industry, including nearly 10 years in various capacities at Bally, remains in his position.
The Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Treasurer will be Neil Davidson, who has been Bally’s CFO since 2010 and has been with the company in key financial roles since 2006.
The Senior Vice President of Australia and Europe will be Adrian Halpenny, who has been President of SHFL’s Australasian and Asia businesses since 2010 and served as SHFL Australasia’s Director of Operations from 2007 to 2010.
Senior Vice President of Operations and Human Resources Gary Kapral has been with Bally since 2005 overseeing organisational development and implementation of Bally’s global human resources strategic-growth initiatives. For the past year, Mr. Kapral has also been leading Bally’s operations and global supply chain.
Senior Vice President of Technology is Bryan Kelly, who joined Bally in 2004 and manages the research and development of new gaming technologies, features and products.
Senior Vice President of Customer Services is Sridhar Laveti, who joined Bally in 2006 and is responsible for managing the services and support teams for the games and systems divisions.
Senior Vice President of Games, Table-Game Products, and Interactive Research & Development (R&D) is Derik Mooberry, who will also oversee sales and operations in Mexico and Latin America. Mr. Mooberry has held several leadership roles at Bally and has nearly 20 years of industry experience.
Senior Vice President of North American Sales and Corporate Marketing is Robert Parente. He previously served as Bally’s Vice President of Canada, Europe and Corporate Accounts and has nearly 20 years’ experience in the gaming industry. Mr. Parente will oversee a consolidated sales organization, with direct reports including veteran executive Tom Reilly and several other long-time sales executives from Bally and SHFL.
Senior Vice President of Asia, India, and South Africa is Srinivasan Raghavan. Mr. Raghavan joined Bally in 2005, overseeing Development Centers in India, and previously served as Bally’s Senior Vice President of Asia-Pacific & Africa and Managing Director of Bally India.
Senior Vice President of Systems Research & Development and Information Technology Sethuram Shivashankar, who joined Bally in 2006, will be responsible for the product management and software development of Bally Systems products and global Information Technology.
Mr. Srinivasan said of the appointments: “The combination of such exceptional leadership from both Bally and SHFL will position us well for the next phase of our growth and will set the bar even higher in providing innovative, award-winning products and world-class customer service and support.”
“Mark Lerner has been a tremendous asset to Bally Technologies over the past 17 years,” he added. “His dedicated leadership, vision for the future, and deep knowledge of the gaming industry has been instrumental in Bally’s growth and success. Few individuals possess Mark’s knowledge and passion for the gaming industry, and his contributions to Bally cannot be overstated.”
Additionally, several senior executives previously at SHFL entertainment will continue with Bally in various leadership capacities. Roger Snowwill serve as Senior Vice President of Table Products and Julia Boguslawski joins as Vice President of Corporate Marketing. Deron Hunsberger, Alexander “Axel” Grohs, Nathan Wadds, Colin Helsen, John Hemberger, Peter Wilkins, Terri Conway, and John Strickland are among other SHFL senior leaders joining the Bally team.
Consultant Kevin Verner will continue to the lead the company’s integration efforts, reporting to Mr. Srinivasan. Verner has been leading the merger of the two companies over the past several months and previously served as Lead Independent Director on Bally Technologies’ Board of Directors.
“I am extremely proud to be working with such an experienced and talented team,” Mr. Srinivasan said. “This dynamic team will be focused on executing on our vision to create a world-class end-to-end gaming technology company. Both companies have long histories of innovation and have evolved to provide our customers with a superior portfolio of products within an ever-changing and competitive landscape. The combination of such exceptional leadership from both companies will enable Bally to continue to provide innovative, award-winning products and responsive, world-class customer service and support.”
