Following the completion of the sale of its global gaming and PlayDigital divisions to Apollo Global Management (NYSE: APO), the business, which was formerly known as International Game Technology (IGT), stated today that it is returning $1.1 billion to equity investors.

The new IGT, Brightstar Lottery (NYSE: BRSL), formally adopted that name on Wednesday for trade and business purposes.  It earned $4 billion in net proceeds from the sale of the aforementioned companies to Apollo, which is merging with Everi to form a massive fintech company focused on slot machines and gaming.  Over 25% of the financial infusion is being given back to equity investors.

"The Company’s Board of Directors declared a special cash dividend to common stockholders in the amount of $3.00 per share. The record date of the distribution is July 14, 2025, and it will be payable on July 29, 2025,” according to a press release.

A $500 million, two-year share repurchase program was also approved by the board, replacing Brightstar's existing buyback plan, the company added.  IGT has a history of repurchasing debt and stock in addition to paying an annual dividend of 80 cents per share, which, at today's closing price of $16.29, translates to a yield of 4.91%.

Capital Return from the Brightstar Lottery Exceeds Expectations

Although it was generally anticipated that Brightstar Lottery would reimburse equity investors for their money after the Apollo deal's closing, it was unclear how much of this would actually happen.

“We are encouraged to see BRSL’s highly anticipated capital return announcement come in nicely ahead of investor expectations, which were wide given limited disclosures though averaging ~$500 million by our estimation with no >$1 billion ‘base case’ expectations, to our knowledge,” observes Stifel analyst Jeffrey Stantial.

In other words, Brightsar is giving investors a larger return than Wall Street anticipated.  Although Stantial notes that there have been some inquiries about the company's two-year buyback plan, it seems that shareholders are happy with those intentions. This suggests that curious minds want to know just how dedicated the lottery operator is to lowering the number of outstanding shares.

 With a $20 price target, Stantial recommends Brightstar as a "buy," suggesting a possible 22.7% increase from today's closing print.

The Brightstar Lottery is also strengthening its balance sheet.

Additionally, Brightstar Lottery announced that it will utilize $2 billion of the Apollo acquisition proceeds to pay down debt, including redeeming "the 3.500% Senior Secured Euro Notes due June 2026 and the 4.125% Senior Secured U.S. Dollar Notes due April 2026 in whole."

Additionally, the business is paying back the remaining amounts on a revolving credit facility that matures in July 2027 and a term loan that matures in January 2027.

“The Company intends to maintain a strong balance sheet with target net debt leverage (net debt/last twelve months Adjusted EBITDA) around 3.0x supported by robust cash flow generation,” according to the statement. “Pro forma for the transaction, approximately $100 million of residual post-closing transaction costs, the full upfront payments associated with the new Italy Lotto license, and the $1.1 billion of capital returned to shareholders, net debt leverage as of March 31, 2025, was 3.5x.”