Aristocrat time line
March 10, 2025
Aristocrat Leisure time line.
June 1996: Aristocrat Leisure floated on the ASX selling 39.3 million shares at $2.90 apiece, giving it an opening market capitalisation of $303 million and valuing the Ainsworth family's residual 58% stake at $175 million. The float was under-written by Macquarie and raised $114m from the public. See AFR coverage.
July 1997: Colorado gaming regulator deemed three of Len's sons - Stephen Ainsworth, Christian Ainsworth and Simon Ainsworth - to be unsuitable to work in the business, along with CEO John Dougall. See AFR coverage at the time.
January 2001: Aristocrat announces $325m cash purchase of Las Vegas based Casino Data Systems.
August 2001: shares peaked at $7.30 giving the company a market cap of $3.28 billion.
December 2002: announces big push into lucrative Russian video slots market.
May 2003: shares crashed 39% to below $1 after profit warning sparking Len and two of his sons to speak out against the management in this AFR feature.
August 2007: Len Ainsworth's AGI announces $50m loss bringing accumulated losses to $85m and audited net assets down to just $15m. It was very hard going competing with Aristocrat over those first 5 years.
August 2009: Len Ainsworth's AGI announces $12.5m loss bringing accumulated losses to $116m.
August 2009: Len's son Kjerulf Ainsworth wins messy court case over a gifted Mercedes to a former lover - court heard his art and petrol station business turns over $100m a year. Judge slammed both parties.
August 2011: Len Ainsworth's AGI announces $23m profit bringing accumulated losses down to $95.7m.
August 2013: Len Ainsworth's AGI announces $52.2m profit bringing accumulated losses down to only $28.5m and net assets up to $204m. Shareholders in front for the first time in a decade.
August 2015: Len Ainsworth's AGI announces $75.8m profit bringing accumulated losses down to only $18.3m with net assets up to $280m.
February 2016: Len Ainsworth sold 172.1 million shares in AGI to Austrian Novomatic at $2.75 a share, netting the 92 year old around $470 million. Minority shareholders didn't get the same offer and in January 2023 the stock had crashed back to 95c.
April 2017: Paul Ainsworth sells 500k worth of Aristocrat shares to reduce his stake to 4.99% and reduce disclosure burdens.
August 2017: AGI announces $37.9m profit bringing accumulated losses down to only $8.4m and lifting net assets to $344.6m.
August 10, 2017: announces $US500m acquisition of Israel-based Plarium to move big time into social gaming and game development.
November 2017: announces $US990m acquisition of Big Fish to become world's second biggest social games operator.
February 2, 2018: ASX announcement celebrating Federal Court victory against Shonica Guy.
October 2, 2018: announces Neil Chatfield will succeed Ian Blackburne as chair.
October 2021: Aristocrat announced an agreed $5 billion bid for UK-based Playtech in October 2021 which was pitched at 680p per share. However, it was comfortably voted down in February 2022 with only 56.13% support when UK takeovers require the support of 75% of voted stock.
May 8, 2024: creates a new reporting segment "Aristocrat Interactive".
November 2024: announces sale of Plarium's mobile gaming business for $US620m upfront and a potential further $US200m to a Norway-based company.
February 2025: Aristocrat decides to restructure rather sell Big Fish, as Intelligent Investor explains. Key change includes retiring Big Fish reporting segment and folding it in with Product Madness, the main social gaming operation.
February 20, 2025: biggest protest 23% against CEO's LTI grant at the AGM. See wrap of my 8 questions.
March 2025: market cap $46.3 billion with stock at $69 after earlier peaking at $78 on February 17.
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