Scientific Games Backs Out of SciPlay Purchase

Betting firm Scientific Games Corp. has pulled out of purchasing the remainder of social gaming group SciPlay Corp., causing the developer's share price to tumble by 21% at its peak.

Scientific Games already owns 81% of the company and announced their intention to possibly fully buy out the company. The company said that SciPlay would help them become a cross-platform betting behemoth, but after SciPlay's board rejected a stock-swap offer, the purchase fell apart.. That came before Scientific Games sold its lottery business in October and dedicated to repositioning itself in the betting world.

SciPlay designs social casino games and has put out Jackpot Party Casino, which allows players to deposit real money to play casino games in which they have no chance of winning anything of value.

A statement from SciPlay on the matter read in part: "Although the Special Committee is disappointed that it and Scientific Games were not able to reach an agreement, both the Special Committee and Scientific Games remain firm in their support of SciPlay's leading platform of digital games, as well as their belief that SciPlay is at an inflection point and positioned for significant growth."