Shares of the Las Vegas-based casino equipment provider dropped to an all-time low as nervous investors worried about the company’s future, a day after Progressive Gaming International warned Wall Street it might face bankruptcy.
Progressive Gaming, known as Mikohn Gaming until 2005, sought to allay concerns across the investment community as analysts debated the company’s financial health on Monday.
“There are really those rumors going around,” Jefferies & Co Gaming analyst Aimee Marcel Remy said of investment community discussions that Progressive Gaming is going bankrupt. “The company has been doing damage control and I’ve been getting calls from a lot of investors.”
Progressive Gaming said in a statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday that bankruptcy comments were taken out of the context of its 2006 annual report, which was filed late Friday. In the risk management arm, Progressive said it may have to file for bankruptcy protection if it is forced to pay a $39 million jury verdict for violating federal antitrust laws.
The company is appealing the Feb. 8 ruling in U.S. District Court in Mississippi. The company does not expect to make a decision on the appeal until sometime in 2008.
Progressive Gaming shares fell 73 cents, or 14.8%, to settle at $4.20 in the Nasdaq National Market on Monday. Initially, the company’s stock fell more than 26% to $3.65 early in the market and $3.55 mid-morning. By the end of the day, more than 7.2 million Progressive Gaming shares were trading, 7.5 times the average daily volume.
Since late February, Progressive’s shares have fallen more than 45%. “It may have been a bit of an overreaction,” Marcel Remy said. “The news (about the lawsuit) was old news.” Heather Rollo, chief financial officer at Progressive Gaming, said in a statement that the company is confident in its legal, financial and strategic position.
“As we mentioned in our previous disclosure, we believe the company is on track to strengthen its balance sheet and return to profitability,” Rollo said. “We remain on good terms with lenders, gaming regulators and other key stakeholders.” 스포츠토토
Also on Monday, Interactive Systems Worldwide announced it had settled a patent infringement lawsuit filed by a New Jersey company regarding Progressive’s Lapid Bet Live sports betting system.
Interactive Systems said the two companies have entered into a licensing agreement to grant Progressive Gaming “a worldwide non-exclusive license to execute ISWI’s existing patent portfolio on sports betting.”
Terms and conditions were not disclosed. Interactive Systems will receive ongoing royalties based on product placement milestones and revenue generated from SpeedBet Live and other related products, as well as initial licensing costs. “Some investors may have confused the two lawsuits,” Marcel Remy said.
