Good evening,

Just over a year after Ainsworth Gaming Technology hung up the for-sale sign, its list of prospective bidders may have shrunk to one familiar name.

Sources told this column that the board of Ainsworth – the $246 million pokie machine maker founded by Aristocrat billionaire Len Ainsworth – has held informal discussions with its largest shareholder Novomatic in recent weeks, after preliminary interest from rival trade players failed to materialise into bids for the ailing business.

Of note, Street Talk is not suggesting Novomatic has a formal offer on the table to buy the 47.6 per cent of Ainsworth that it doesn’t already own, or that there is any certainty a deal will materialise.

But should Novomatic proceed with a full-blown offer for Ainsworth – and it’s a big if at this stage – the valuation will be a key battleground for shareholders, who have long argued its earnings and asset base are materially undervalued compared to listed rivals.

The Austrian family-owned company owns the Admiral Casino brand and was introduced to Ainsworth in 2013, as tighter gambling regulations forced it to seek growth overseas. Three years later, it picked up a 53 per cent stake off Ainsworth’s namesake founder. A former Novomatic executive, Harald Neumann, has headed the ASX-listed company since 2021.

Ainsworth’s poor financials – underlying profit before tax fell 39 per cent in the June half to $14.3 million and slid further to $8 to $10 million in the December half – have meant the share price is down nearly 48 per cent over 12 months despite the ongoing strategic review.

Read the full story tomorrow and more on the Street Talk page.

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Click here for the latest equity market wrap.