HP rejects takeover offer from Xerox - 660 NEWS

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by The Associated Press

Posted Nov 17, 2019 12:41 pm MST

HP Inc. says its board has rejected a roughly $33.5 billion takeover offer from Xerox.

The Palo Alto, California-based company said Sunday that the cash and stock deal undervalues its business and its board cited concerns about outsized debt levels should the companies combine.

HP, which makes computers and printers, said it recognizes the potential benefits of consolidation and remains open to exploring other options to combine with Xerox Holdings Corp.

Both companies have faced difficulties as the demand for printed documents and ink have waned.

The Associated Press

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Read the rest here:
HP rejects takeover offer from Xerox - CityNews Calgary

An untimely leak to RNZ brought some clarity to the governments plans for its media assets yet left many questions unanswered. Duncan Greive analyses the latest revelations.

RNZs flagship Morning Report programme today led its prime 7.10am slot with a bombshell about Radio New Zealand itself. Political editor Jane Patterson had the scoop on a story which has been building for much of the year, and become the default conversation topic for those working in journalism and communications: what did the government plan to do with its media assets?

Speculation had centred around a mega-merger of multiple entities, but Pattersons report quoted an advisory group as having collectively recommended the government agree to disestablish TVNZ and RNZ and to establish a new public media entity. It still needs to make it through the Cabinet process, but the direction of travel is now visible. Mori TV is said not to be part of the plan.

Its the latest in a string of huge media stories to drop over the past month, many of them connected to MediaWorks. The radio, television and outdoor advertising giant had been publicly advocating for TVNZ1 to be made non-commercial so as to fix what it perceived as a structural inequity in the advertising market. After the government resisted its increasingly loud pleas, MediaWorks announced that Three was for sale in October, with the prospect of it being shut down should a suitable buyer not emerge. This was followed by the resignation of Newshubs head of news, Hal Crawford, with the longtime head of NZ on Air not long after.

All this occurred against a backdrop of a newish broadcasting minister in Kris Faafoi engaging with public and private media about the industrys travails. The expectation of substantial and far-sighted change had built hugely before Pattersons story broke and the scope of what she described certainly met and probably exceeded the desired scale.

Yet as much as the story revealed, the gaps yawn. There are a number of critical questions which need answering. And while the process has been signalled as one which will take years, some signal that the direction of travel is now critical so as to allow both TVNZ and RNZ to calm affected staff and convey confidence to clients and audiences.

The Spinoff has spoken to several well-placed sources in public and private media today on background to inform these questions.

No. The description of a new public media entity is not a case of doing a Telecom/Spark, said one source privy to the proposal. Its better understood as describing a merged organisation which will ultimately house both the government-owned entities. Its critical that whatever the proposal suggests, it doesnt push pause on two organisations in motion and going through major digital transitions.

Additionally, for TVNZ this news has the potential to destabilise some commercial revenue at the worst possible time just a week after its advertiser showcase. CEO Kevin Kenrick moved quickly to reassure advertisers, emailing them this morning to hose down the report, saying: No decisions have been made or announced despite what you may read [TVNZ remains committed to] cost effective opportunities for your business to engage with these audiences.

2. What happens to NZ on Air?

The resignation of longtime chief Jane Wrightson to become retirement commissioner represents an opportunity to fold a reset of public media funder NZ on Air into this larger piece of work. Demands on the organisation have changed massively during her 12-year term, with digital going from a non-factor to the dominant delivery vehicle for younger audiences in that time.

Wrightson negotiated the political and private sectors adroitly in her role and helped transition the organisation to its current platform agnostic model. Yet were the proposal to go ahead, it contains a clear existential threat to NZ on Air: currently well over half its funding goes toward RNZ or shows which air on various TVNZ platforms. If Three transforms or folds, as is a distinct possibility, that percentage will inevitably further increase.

The case for direct commissioning by this new entity will be strong,and with it, inevitable questions about the function of NZ on Air with a smaller pool of platforms and a vastly diminished budget. Without a parallel increase in NZ on Air funding, the new entity has the potential to take more public money and oxygen from a starving private sector.

3. How will the commercial and non-commercial be balanced?

Perhaps the most critical issue is the balance of demands of the commercial and non-commercial, and which feels in the ascendant. An entity of this nature is by no means without precedent RTE in Ireland is probably the best example, while SBS in Australia also runs on a mix of public and advertiser funds. Yet RTE is beset by a financial crisis, and SBS is far less prominent in Australia than this combined entity would be. Theres also the optics one branch of government (the Commerce Commission) has twice refused private sector media mergers which aimed to solve just this kind of generational challenge. Vodafone/Sky and NZME/Stuff have each suffered markedly since those decisions. All would surely find the prospect of competing for audience and commercial partners with a massive and revved up government entity deeply chilling.

Similarly, the Coalition for Better Public Media, which has advocated for change for many years, greeted the news with very cautious optimism, saying hybrid public/commercial funding models can work but only where a) the level of public funding exceeds the level of commercial funding and b) where core services like news and current affairs are completely insulated from commercial priorities.

4. Will existing audiences embrace the new, or be furious at the change?

The likelihood is that the impact on audiences will be minimal. Shows like Q+A might become co-platformed, and there could well be more sharing of hosts and other talent across networks, particularly around major news events. Sources suggest that TVNZ and RNZ are already talking more regularly and constructively than they have in years.

The biggest challenge for both, and for public media in general, is about forging a digital path, innovating and building on reputational strengths online.

A core part of that is in building younger audiences. Both RNZ and TVNZ feel like brands which will be difficult to port down to new audiences, even with more resources and on new platforms. Is there room for a third brand, that approximates what the likes of Triple J and 1Xtra have done in Australia and the UK respectively within the music space? A skunkworks made up of youth and digitally-focused people from both organisations might be better able to succeed, or at least out-perform the likes of TVNZ U and The Wireless two highly-touted youth brands which are no longer with us.

5. Will it prove durable through different governments?

In many ways, this is the most critical question of all. National have a history of shutting down Labours media initiatives (see: the charter, TVNZ 7). Melissa Lee, Nationals broadcasting spokesperson, had yet to consult with caucus when I spoke to her, but expressed grave concern at the prospect of a giant publicly-funded media entity which dwarfs all the others. Lee acknowledged the challenges of the sector, and the importance of local media, saying we are a small country inundated with content coming from around the world. But she expressed concern at the continued reverence for the core forms (radio and linear television), saying that younger people have abandoned them and she had too: no linear, no timeshifting everything is OnDemand.

Lee says she has not yet seen the proposal, and while The Spinoff understands that Faafoi has approached National to try and build consensus on the issue, no formal meeting has yet taken place.

Which is to say that todays leak has provided signals but nothing resembling clarity. It may have accelerated the governments release timetable, yet will also have provided opponents time to lobby against the move. It remains something that TVNZ, in particular, will find hard to digest, and that private sector media will be rightly very wary of. The medias year of chaos rolls on, without a conclusion in sight.

Love The Spinoff? The best way to support us is to join The Spinoff Members. For just $2 a week you can help us hire more journalists and receive a FREE copy of our first book.

The Bulletin is The Spinoffs acclaimed daily digest of New Zealands most important stories, delivered directly to your inbox each morning.

Read more here:
Five key questions about the new super-broadcaster to replace TVNZ and RNZ - The Spinoff

NEW YORK Nov 19, 2019 (Thomson StreetEvents) -- Edited Transcript of Inspired Entertainment Inc earnings conference call or presentation Tuesday, November 12, 2019 at 2:00:00pm GMT

* A. Lorne Weil

Inspired Entertainment, Inc. - Executive Chairman of the Board

* Brooks H. Pierce

Inspired Entertainment, Inc. - President & COO

Inspired Entertainment, Inc. - Executive VP & Chief Strategy Officer

* Stewart F. B. Baker

Inspired Entertainment, Inc. - CFO & Executive VP

* Chad C. Beynon

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Inspired Entertainment Third Quarter 2019 Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note that today's event is being recorded. I'll begin today's conference call by referring you to the company's safe harbor statement that appears in the third quarter 2019 earnings press release, which is available in the Investors section of the company's website at http://www.inseinc.com. This safe harbor statement also applies to today's conference call as the company's management will be making certain statements that could be considered forward-looking under securities laws and rules of the CEC (sic) [SEC]. These statements are based on management's current expectations or beliefs and are subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances.

In addition, please note that the company will discuss both GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation is included in the earnings press release.

With that completed, I would now like to turn the conference call over to Lorne Weil, the company's Executive Chairman. Mr. Weil, please go ahead.

A. Lorne Weil, Inspired Entertainment, Inc. - Executive Chairman of the Board [2]

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining our third quarter earnings conference call. Here with me today are Brooks Pierce, Stewart Baker and Dan Silvers, all of whom you're by now quite familiar with. In the press release this morning, we referred to a three-pronged strategy that we had been in the process of implementing for quite some time: mitigating the impact of the changes in the U.K. regulations that came from the Triennial Review to between $10 million and $11 million a year or possibly less; generation of new business in our worldwide VLT, Virtual Sports and Interactive businesses with a goal to fully offset the impact of the Triennial; and at the same time, as these things are going on, we are integrating the Novomatic U.K. acquisition that we've talked quite a bit about, including realizing the synergies that we had projected at the time, but as we talk more this morning, we're increasingly confident in.

In my remarks, I'd like to touch on each of these, and then hand it off to Brooks to talk in more detail about the business development initiatives and the integration efforts that are underway. Lastly, Stewart will cover the financials and any refinancing-related matters at the end of our prepared remarks before we open it up to questions.

Our third quarter results were, obviously, negatively impacted by the reduction in the maximum stake to GBP 2 in the U.K. LBO market, which was implemented on April 1. As we report that a number of times, it was originally intended to be implemented in October of this year and was accelerated back to April, which created a range of logistical issues, again, that we have discussed a number of times and we won't bother to go into in any more detail today. But as we've discussed previously, we think it will take until we're in the first quarter of 2020 for the full mitigation plan to be executed. As expected, we've borne the full impact of the revenue reduction in the second and third quarters, while having only partially mitigated the impact through cost-focused operational initiatives. Part of the reason that we've only mitigated part of the impact is, as I've mentioned a moment ago, because the change in the regulation itself came 6 months quicker than we had been planning. And some of the things that we can do to very significantly mitigate the impact can't take place until shop closures and other activities have run their course.

I think right now, most importantly, we're seeing a very steady improvement in the sequential year-over-year trend in the gross win per day. Immediately after the implementation of the Triennial on April 1, this measure of revenue performance was down 44%. By May, the decline had improved to 40%. Throughout the third quarter, it was, on average, 37%. It improved again to 25% in the month of October. And so far, in November month-to-date, it's about 20%. So as you can see, there's been a tremendous improvement on the revenue side. And as we'll get to in a moment, we are in the process of implementing concomitant changes on the cost side.

Along the way, we've seen the closures of, so far, of approximately 850 shops. And the aftermath supports our previously outlined thesis that a substantial portion of the revenue lost to the shop closures would be recovered through our remaining estate, and that the shops closed would, on average, be at the lower end of the cashbox distribution.

I should also mention here that at least as of the present time, there have been very limited shop closures on the part of the major operators in the U.K. who are not our customers. Most of the shop closures have been our customers. So as and when we begin to see some closures on the part of operators who are not our customers, logic would say that we will capture at least some parts of that recirculated revenue, and we would expect that to be one of the drivers of continued improvement in the revenue per terminal per day that I mentioned a moment ago.

Whereas our revenues are driven by a direct linear relationship to the cash going into the machines, obviously, many -- actually most of our costs are unrelated to revenues, but in fact, driven simply by the physical numbers of machines. We pointed this out before, cost such as field maintenance, transportation logistics, spare parts, et cetera.

So as the overall industry goes through this period of restructuring and soft consolidation, our cost mitigation efforts are going to be driven by a smaller, more profitable estate, as well as being able to either redeploy the terminals that we have removed in the field into other geographies in the world or cannibalize them for service spares, which is the significant component of our ongoing operating cost.

For some time, we've been forecasting that the fully mitigated adjusted EBITDA impact of the Triennial would be between $10 million and $11 million a year. Based upon what we're seeing so far in the fourth quarter, combined with comprehensive updated modeling, we're confident we will reach this level by the first quarter of 2020. Indeed, given both recent positive sequential revenue trends and a deeper analysis of costs, we think there is a decent opportunity that we can do even better than that.

We've been saying some time that we expect that by the end of the year or early next year, our overall adjusted EBITDA run rate would be back to where it was going as we went into the Triennial, a number around, let's say, $12.5 million to $13.5 million of EBITDA per quarter. So in other words, in that time frame, our other business initiatives, which Brooks will talk about in considerably more detail in a moment such as the launch of our gaming machine business in North America, new machines in Greece, new Virtual Sports contracts and new Virtual Sports products, and very importantly, additional Interactive customers, which we have been adding at a very accelerating rate, altogether will be generating, I would say, at least $2.5 million a quarter. Enough to offset the impact of the Triennial, and again, take us back to a more normalized level of EBITDA, which, as I said a moment ago, is, shall we say, between $12.5 million and $13 million of EBITDA per quarter.

Finally, and right now, I guess in a way, most importantly, we completed the acquisition of Novomatic U.K. Gaming Technology Group. These businesses are experiencing very positive trends, both in terms of the standalone revenue and profitability, but also the integration in the synergy work that we have been doing. The trends have actually been stronger than what we anticipated when we agreed to acquire these businesses. Our thesis on the business, going through its conversion from what was at one time an entirely analog business to what is now more than 60% through the process of conversion to digital, is proving correct. And it's very clear that the pub's cashbox is increasing almost in lockstep with the trend from analog to digital. This, in turn, again, as we have discussed before, has a very positive impact on the EBITDA margins of the business, and we're seeing this happen in parallel.

There are quite a few other positives we're seeing in the NTG business that Brooks will discuss in more detail.

Based on this evidence, we expect that the 2020 adjusted EBITDA coming from the Novomatic businesses will growing nicely over what it was in 2019. On top of this, the work we're doing now seems to suggest that the synergy potential could be greater than what we originally expected, making us incrementally more comfortable with the existing synergy guidance and working towards a higher number. I have said this before, but I should mention that the management team that is dealing with this has had a very considerable experience in the past at integrating acquisitions like this. And so we're pretty confident that the estimates and projections that we're making are going to be comfortably achieved.

Quantitatively, as we've mentioned before, NTG's 2018 adjusted EBITDA added to our original estimate of synergies would yield approximately $35 million of incremental adjusted EBITDA, with only modest growth in revenue and our margins in 2019 and 2020, and quite possibly, a greater-than-expected synergies. We could reasonably expect to reach an adjusted EBITDA run rate in these businesses somewhat higher than the $35 million that we have been talking about.

I should mention here that the Novomatic businesses are somewhat more seasonal than the legacy Inspired businesses, with about half -- more than half of the EBITDA coming in the second and the third quarters because of the importance of the summer holiday season.

So to summarize then, as we look ahead and think about where we'll be, let's say, when we're exiting the first quarter of 2020, so about 2 quarters from now, less than 2 quarters from now, we would expect to have mitigated Triennial impact to around $2.5 million a quarter; to have comfortably added adjusted EBITDA from a range of initiatives in North America, Greece, Virtual Sports, Interactive and so forth; and finally, to have largely integrated NTG, realizing both its stand-alone profitability and the attendant synergies that we're seeing that it has with our legacy Inspired business.

So with that, I'd like now to hand it over to Brooks to further discuss our new business developments, and in particular, our most recent initiatives in North America.

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Brooks H. Pierce, Inspired Entertainment, Inc. - President & COO [3]

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Thanks, Lorne. And I'd like to add just a little bit of color to some of the points you touched on, in particular, the benefits and the integration plans for the NTG acquisition, as well as the pace of the business developments that we have been working on in the North American market.

The teams have been working hard, as Lorne mentioned, on the integration plans, and we see a number of opportunities both in cost savings and also in revenue growth and synergies. In terms of the acquired businesses, I think it's important to emphasize the addition of the design studios and capabilities of Astra, Bell-Fruit and Innov8. We strongly believe that the combination of these 3 groups with our existing Inspired content development team will position us well to execute on our omnichannel strategy across multiple geographies. Both Bell-Fruit and Astra, for example, are producing content for the U.K. pub sector that is growing that business significantly and is a leader in the space by a large margin. This content is driving the digitization of the pub sector, as Lorne mentioned, from analog, and the shift to digital has historically increased the cashbox for our customer, and thereby, our revenue, and importantly, our margins. So we believe that this content, combined with the leading

Prismatic cabinet, is the key to success in that segment of the business.

We also expect to leverage this new content plus the 6 key Novomatic titles we acquired, including Book of Ra, in the transaction within our U.K. LBO business, both to drive increased cashbox there as well as to reduce our reliance on third-party content to increase both our margins and our revenue.

Moving on to some other areas. As we've discussed on previous calls, our Inspired content is leading the way in performance in Greece, and we're excited to be placing our Valor cabinets. In fact, just this week, the first Valor cabinets were installed in Greece. We use Greece as a proof point from what we thought it would take to succeed in Illinois because the markets are similar in that they are distributed with a large number of locations and a relatively small number of machines per location. We created bespoke content for the Illinois market after doing extensive study and analysis, and are encouraged by the results we are seeing thus far, albeit on only relatively small sample set.

So we expect to be in trials with a number of operators this quarter, and we'll report on the conversion of these to both sales and to follow-on sales in the upcoming quarters with the addition of the 6th machine in Illinois.

The combination and addition of all this content creation will drive not only our Server Based Gaming business, but again, as Lorne mentioned, it will likely also serve as a catalyst for our interactive RGS business as we develop content for the multiple territories that we serve. We're seeing significant growth in that space and expect that to continue beyond the U.K. where we're expanding in Sweden, Spain, Italy, and, importantly, North America.

So our growth strategy in North America really is across the entire business. We talked about the Virtual Sports business, the launch of our games in Illinois. In fact, on Virtual Sports side, we are looking forward to, actually next week, the launch of a new game with the Pennsylvania Lottery of Derby Cash that I think I've mentioned on previous calls. It has different mechanics with a larger payout structures, multipliers, et cetera, et cetera. So we're looking forward to launching that product and getting the results on the Virtual Sports side.

Also on the online side of our Virtual Sports business, which is showing nice growth throughout, we'll be going live with customers in New Jersey coming up shortly like bet365, the worldwide leader in Virtual Sports who will have 17 streams of Virtual Sports launching in New Jersey shortly.

So our pipeline of Virtual Sports offerings in the North American market has picked up, and we're looking forward to rolling out some of the new products we've developed that we've talked about in the past. Our Virtual Basketball product that we've launched in the U.K. and is doing some amazing business, and then some of the new content that we've mentioned before, our NFL Alumni Virtual Football game and also, our hockey game with NHL Legend, Jaromir Jgr. So with that, I'll pass it to Stewart for the financials.

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Stewart F. B. Baker, Inspired Entertainment, Inc. - CFO & Executive VP [4]

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Thank you, Brooks. Good morning, all. So overall, in U.S. dollar terms, revenue compared to the same quarter last year was down around 25% and adjusted EBITDA around 47%. As has been the case in recent quarters, there was a drag from FX rates where we saw some very low sterling rates in the quarter. So in pound rates, these growth rates are improved by around 4%. And these negative variances were caused by 3 main factors. Firstly, as expected, these were impacted by the change in the maximum stakes in the U.K. B2 market. As Lorne mentioned, we saw some pickup during the quarter, but more importantly, it's the trading in October and November to date, that gives real encouragement.

Despite the store closures at the very end of the quarter, our revenue for October was in line with September, and we expect November to be higher. On top of this, the store closures allow us to unlock more of the cost benefits and these are progressing well. Secondly, we had high comparables in hardware and software license sales in the prior year quarter. If you remember, on the last quarterly call, Lorne talked about the fact that given the majority of our revenue is recurring, the nonrecurring piece appeared lumpier than we would like and can cause some large swings quarter-to-quarter. And that's certainly the case here. And incidentally, this is another benefit the acquisition brings in diluting this.

There were also headwinds in the recurring business, including in Italy VLT, where tax increases and other regulation caused a decrease year-over-year of $1.1 million. In Virtual Sports, we were impacted by reduction in license amortization, as we talked about many times before, a contract rephasing and the lack of an international soccer tournament this summer. However, we are confident that Virtual Sports will get back into growth mode in Q4.

So there are quite a few reasons the year-on-year position is challenging to look at. And for that reason, I do think it's worth commenting briefly on the quarter-to-quarter growth, Q2 to Q3. So in taking out the impact of the currency fluctuations, and looking in pound terms, adjusted EBITDA increased from GBP 6.9 million to GBP 7.1 million. This growth is even more pronounced when considering that we had an Italian license sale in Q2 and in Q3 of approximately $250,000. The virtual seasonality impact of about GBP 300,000, and saving and cost, such as exhibitions, in Q3 that we didn't have in Q2 of about GBP 300,000.

In terms of cash flow, for the first 9 months of the year, if we look at free cash flow, which we define as cash provided by operating activities, less net cash used in investing activities, then we see an increase of $7.6 million from a $1.7 million outflow last year compared to an inflow of $5.9 million this year, despite the reductions in adjusted EBITDA. Free cash flow in the quarter was negative $4 million. And whilst having a full quarter impact on cash flows from the Triennial was a factor, as was a Greek VLT CapEx spend, actually the biggest factor was the amount of transaction fees and restructuring costs in the quarter.

In terms of the balance sheet, and specifically the new debt, we now have GBP 140 million of borrowings at LIBOR plus 7 2 5 and EUR 90 million at LIBOR plus 6 7 5 with a 0 floor. This means the average blended coupon rate is around 7.7%. This is down from about 10.9% previously and about 17%, 15 months or so ago. And on top of this term loan, we have a GBP 20 million revolving credit facility.

So finally, briefly on the acquisition. To reiterate what Lorne and Brooks have both said, we're pleased with the state of the business which is firmly back into growth mode, with very positive incomes in both the pub sector, but also the leisure sector. In talking of the leisure sector, as Lorne touched on, this is a seasonal business with a number of venues closing during the fall and winter months. As such, approximately 70% to 80% of adjusted EBITDA of the acquired business has historically come from the second and third quarters.

So hopefully that gives a bit of an overview of the quarter trading and the current debt position. So with that, I'll hand back to Lorne for any additional comments before we open up for Q&A.

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A. Lorne Weil, Inspired Entertainment, Inc. - Executive Chairman of the Board [5]

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Thanks, Stewart. That was an excellent review. I don't have any further comments. So operator, you can open the program to Q&A, please.

================================================================================

Questions and Answers

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Operator [1]

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(Operator Instructions) Your first question is from David Bain with Roth Capital.

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David Brian Bain, Roth Capital Partners, LLC, Research Division - MD & Senior Research Analyst [2]

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Great. I just have 3 questions if I could. The first on Illinois. Can we get a sense or a little bit more granularity of performance data to date? I mean, generally, are we in line with the market geography you shipped to? Are you making an interim adjustments to units? Any thoughts on the initial base performance in general? And then trying to get a sense as to the potential rollout in the market as you look to next year.

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Brooks H. Pierce, Inspired Entertainment, Inc. - President & COO [3]

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Sure. So in Illinois, as I mentioned in my remarks, it's obviously a very small sample size. We have 17 machines installed at the moment, which, again, is pretty small to measure. But we are happy with the numbers that we've seen thus far. We'll be rolling out additional trials throughout this quarter. But as I'm sure you know, the impact of the addition of the 6th machine, they are now talking about that could be possibly in the first quarter next year. So what we're getting is either somebody will put one of our games on trial as a replacement or I think they issued something like 160 new licenses last quarter. So some of that will come this quarter and will install there. So probably early days to say, but I can tell you that both the early performance numbers and certainly the feedback that we've gotten from customers and players has been very positive.

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David Brian Bain, Roth Capital Partners, LLC, Research Division - MD & Senior Research Analyst [4]

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Okay. And then on the U.K., it just looks like the Prime Minister may be sympathetic to calls for stricter regulation for online, potentially like the GBP 2 limit on online slots and in credit cards, et cetera. If that ends as a -- like a 2021 event, can you give us an idea of any benefits or potential negatives for Inspired?

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Brooks H. Pierce, Inspired Entertainment, Inc. - President & COO [5]

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Well, I think we've talked about a number of times that our Interactive business is -- although it's probably the fastest-growing segment, it's also the smallest segment. So we would be impacted far less than many others. And certainly nothing in the magnitude whatsoever in relation to Triennial. Stewart's here and probably is a better expert on U.K. politics, although that might be a bit of an oxymoron with everything that's going on in the U.K. But right now, this is just a ministerial group that is pushing this, so it still will take time to play out. And I'm sure the gaming industry and the remote gaming industry, particularly, probably having learned from some of the mistakes that may have been made on the Triennial, I'm sure will be very aggressive in promoting their responsible gaming activities and obviously we'll support them in that regard. But should not -- if this were to occur by 2021, I wouldn't consider it a huge issue for us.

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David Brian Bain, Roth Capital Partners, LLC, Research Division - MD & Senior Research Analyst [6]

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Okay. Okay. And just last one would be on the NTG acquisition. It's part of the uplift that you all kind of spoke to in 3Q, in particular. Was there a benefit from the Triennial? And to kind of sum up the performance of NTG, because you did give a lot of data points, but can we just quantify the trailing 12 since 3Q? I mean, with synergy, is it closer to 37 or around there?

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Stewart F. B. Baker, Inspired Entertainment, Inc. - CFO & Executive VP [7]

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So I mean, in terms of trailing 12 months EBITDA from the acquired business, that's in the GBP 19 million range in sterling.

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Brooks H. Pierce, Inspired Entertainment, Inc. - President & COO [8]

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(inaudible)

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Stewart F. B. Baker, Inspired Entertainment, Inc. - CFO & Executive VP [9]

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Yes. Pre any synergies. Yes, absolutely. Sorry.

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Brooks H. Pierce, Inspired Entertainment, Inc. - President & COO [10]

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And David, let me just add one thing about your comment. I think that's one of the big questions that people are asking us is, has the impact of the Triennial and the LBO shifted game play to the pub market? Kind of hard to quantify because it's not carded play over there as you know. But the reality is, one of the rationales behind this acquisition of NTG is, frankly, whether a player goes from an LBO to a pub sector, we expect to be the leader of both of those segments. So we hope to capture that revenue. But certainly, the pub cashbox performance both in terms of the digital stuff that I talked about before, the content. But, frankly, we believe there is some crossover play.

Go here to read the rest:
Edited Transcript of HDRAU earnings conference call or presentation 12-Nov-19 2:00pm GMT - Yahoo Finance

David Gauke is standing as an independent having lost the Conservative whipNeil Hall/EPA

The Liberal Democrat leader has rejected David Gaukes plea not to contest his seat, facing down fears in her own party over splitting the Remain vote.

Jo Swinson said that she still intended to field a candidate against Mr Gauke in South West Hertfordshire, despite the former Tory cabinet minister calling for traditional Tory voters elsewhere to back the Lib Dems.

The plea from Mr Gauke, the former justice secretary who is now standing as an independent, was made in an interview with The Times and aimed at denying Boris Johnson a Tory majority which he said would enable a very hard Brexit. He also came out in favour of a second referendum.

Ms Swinson also insisted that the party would replace Tim Walker, the

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Election 2019: Lib Dems ignore David Gauke's plea not to split the Remain vote - The Times

Pontoon at the East Pier Photo Brian Whitehead

Thanet councils Section 151 officer responsible for ensuring the legality and financial prudence of decisions has raised concerns over the way a contract to replace berths in Ramsgate is being carried out.

Finance officer Tim Willis has highlighted concern over whether the proposal to buy two floating pontoons from company Bam Nuttall in a direct contract would breach procurement rules because it does not invite bids from any other firm.

The pontoons, which will cost 1.4million, are for the Bretts aggregate site at Ramsgate Port and for extended berthing at the Royal Harbour for offshore wind farm vessels.

Council Cabinet members will be asked at a meeting tomorrow (November 14) to agree to the deal to buy the pontoons in the two for one offer from Bam Nuttall.

One pontoon will replace berth 4/5 used by Bretts for discharging aggregates brought to the port via sea.

A report to councillors says: If the berth becomes unserviceable or is required to be decommissioned the Council would be in breach of this legally binding agreement with the lessee. The existing berth is at the end of its operational life and there is a high risk of service failure and the need to permanently decommission the berth in the near future. The report says not providing the berth facilities would have catastrophic financial consequences.

The second pontoon is earmarked for the Eastern Gully at Ramsgate harbour. The report says this would provide space for four larger vessels and free up eight existing berths.

However, the report from maritime services officer Mike Humber says the legality of whether the contract should be open to tenders or whether it can be awarded in a process only open to one bidder contractor Bam Nuttall has to be considered.

It also reveals that Mr Willis has not seen the latest legal advice or the project programme, despite being responsible for the proper administration of finance affairs.

The report says: The Section 151 Officer has had concerns regarding the nature of the contract (whether it is a works or supplies contract, with the consequential requirements to follow Public Contracts Regulations 2015); and the procurement process to be followed, i.e. the justification for direct award, over a competitive process.

The Section 151 Officer has not seen the latest specialist legal advice, but he is confident that the Monitoring Officer has done so and assessed the risk to the council of the various options.

Cabinet must seek assurance from the legal comments, and obtain confidence in the legality of the decision to treat this contract as a works contract, and the decision to award the contract direct to BAM Nuttal without competition, when making its decision.

There remain the questions as to whether or not a competitive tendering process or processes would offer a route that would provide better value for money; and whether or not alternative contract packaging would provide better value for money. This decision is finely balanced, bearing in mind the risks, the novel nature of the proposal, and the substantial value of the contract.

By directly awarding a combined supply and installation contract for two pontoons with a value of 1.477m, it will never be known if a different packaging and/or competitive route would have yielded better value for money.

Thanet council says it has had external legal advice from Blake Morgan Solicitors about the risks of challenge involved in making a direct award and concluded It is not possible to say definitively that this is a works or supplies contract. This is important as a works contract would come underneath the EU Procurement threshold but a supplies contract would not. This question would only be answered by a court, if a challenge were raised.

The report says there are sufficient arguments in favour of it being a works contract but adds that responsibility is ultimately a question of judgement for the council, after considering the risks and mitigation measures.

The report says alternative options would prove more expensive with the estimated cost of replacing berth 4/5 with a floating berth being 723k more than the pontoon offer and a fixed berth costing 1.7m-2.6 million more.

The pontoons were previously in use during a tunnelling operation in London with the 3 million tonnes of materials excavated used to create an RSPB nature reserve at Wallasea Island in Essex.

The structures will be installed under permitted development rights rather than seeking planning permission. A marine licence will also have to be obtained for each berth.

The council also hopes the harbour berthing will bring an income of up to 596,975 over five years.

Cabinet members are being asked to agree to the spend of 887,000 for the Port of Ramsgate Berth 4/5 Replacement and 590,000 for the Ramsgate Harbour Commercial Berth in the deal with Bam Nuttall and to delegate contract negotiation and signing to Mr Humber, council director of operational services Gavin Waite and council leader Rick Everitt.

The Amendment Regulations 2009 mean that, in certain circumstances, a court can declare a contract is void as a result of flaws in the procurement process most obviously if it is awarded directly without advertisement or competition.

A public authority found to have breached the public procurement regime could also be the subject of a fine and/or damages.

The issue will be discussed at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow (November 14).

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Original post:
Top council officer raises concerns over two-for-one pontoon deal at Ramsgate port and harbour - The Isle of Thanet News

Not long ago, the only alternative to cabinet replacement was to paint the cabinetsa mighty poor substitute, and an impossible task when confronted with largely unpaintable thermofoil cabinets.

Cabinet refacing has been around for a long timeit's essentially wood-veneering on steroidsbut cabinet refacing as a cottage industry is new. Since cabinet refacing is a close substitute for replacement, the differences tend to blur. So, in this comparison guide, let's look at the similarities and differences between cabinet refacing and replacing.

When the cabinet boxes are in solid shape.

When cost is an issue.

When remodeling, as opposed to building a new house.

When you like your current kitchen layout.

When constructing a new house, bumping out your kitchen, or building a new addition containing a kitchen.

When creating a new kitchen layout.

When cabinet boxes, drawers, or doors are in bad shape.

When doing a whole-kitchen remodel.

Whodoesn't want new cabinets? If your budget at all allows for it, new cabinets give your kitchen long-lasting value for your enjoyment or for resale.

If money is an issue, then cabinet refacing is the closest alternative to replacement available at this time.

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Refacing vs. Replacing Kitchen Cabinets - The Spruce

Our high-quality replacement kitchen cabinet doors can help turn a tired space into the room of your dreams. Whether your kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanity, or pantry needs refacing, we have the perfect cabinet doors for your project.

FastCabinetDoors.com has an extensive selection of quality handmade custom cabinet doors & drawer fronts on the internet. Every single one of our replacement cabinet doors (such as the very popular shaker door) will be built by hand to fit your application. Whether replacing a single door under your bathroom sink or every kitchen cabinet door in your pantry, our high-quality replacement doors will add value and beauty wherever sturdy doors are needed.

All doors are custom made for you and come pre-sanded, ready to be painted or stained. Listed prices are per square foot. Input your size, select your material type and boring options to get a final price for your custom cabinet door. If you need any help, our in-house cabinet experts are waiting to help walk you through our easy ordering process.

More about cabinet door types:Unfinished Wood Doors - Wood kitchen cabinet doors are constructed of a solid wood frame, and either a solid or plywood panel. Wood doors can be refinished, and minor damage is easier to repair.

Thermofoil Doors Thermofoil doors are comprised of a durable vinyl laminated on Medium Density Fiberboard. Thermofoil doors stand up well to high humidity and regular cleaning.

Painted Doors - A beautiful prepainted grey or white cabinet door will be delivered to your doorstep.

Doors Cut for Glass - Commonly referred to as Glass Cabinet Doors. An elegant addition to any room, these doors come precut for glass panels.

Take a look at our FAQ for more information on doors, drawers, hardware, and installation.

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Cabinet Doors - Replacement Kitchen Cabinet Doors, Custom ...

If youre looking for a timeless work of art that cant be replicated, we recommend custom cabinet work. For this, John Moore works closely with a master cabinet maker whose shop is operated right out of Houston. After initial consultations to find out what you need in terms of cabinet sizing, budget, and preferred style, a John Moore technician will sit down with you to draw out your dream cabinet system. At this stage, youll be able to tell us everything you want from your cabinets, down to custom carved doors, exact wood stains, and knobs that complement the construction of your cabinets.

Once your custom designed cabinets are set and ordered, the cabinet maker can be brought in to discuss any last details with you directly. Be aware that the craftsmanship of these cabinets demands extra time to perfect. However, we think youll agree that these one-of-a-kind pieces of art are well worth the wait.

Maybe your home library needs glass front cabinets to display your collection of antique books. We can design a system that not only shows off your collection but also keeps your books and collectibles dust-free and safe from heat, moisture, children and pets. If youre looking for a system to keep the kids playroom tidy, weve got you covered there, too. Well help you size out a cabinet thats just the right height for your youngest family members with designs that can grow with them over time.

Are you looking for more storage in the media room? We can create a sleek system to house your sound equipment, flat screen, and Blu-Ray collection so that your media system can be kept safe and tucked away until you are ready to sit down for a film or your favorite show.

Guided by your vision and our master craftsmans talent, we can design functional cabinet systems for any room in your home.

Read more here:
Cabinet Repair and Replacement - John Moore

Kitchen Saver Custom Cabinet Renewal

The kitchen is the heart of your home. It experiences a lot of use, and your cabinets are no exception. Kitchen Saver can give you the kitchen youve always wanted by using our Custom Cabinet Renewal process, a faster, more valuable option to kitchen remodeling.

Kitchen Saver isnt an ordinary cabinet refacing business; our exclusive kitchen upgrading process known as Custom Cabinet Renewal makes us an industry leader and innovator. Traditional kitchen companies can only reface or install new cabinets. Kitchen Saver goes beyond to provide you with a semi-custom combination approach, offering traditional cabinet refacing, new cabinets, organization accessories, electrical and plumbing modifications, and countertop upgrades. With Custom Cabinet Renewal, you receive the quality of a major kitchen remodel for the price and efficiency of cabinet refacing, without the mess or the hassle.

Lets break it down. There are 3 things you need to know about Kitchen Saver:

Kitchen Saver can transform your kitchen in as little as 3 days and save you money by using and improving your existing cabinets and enhancing the functionality of your space. Every project is installed by 10 year warranty that covers parts and labor. Being in business for 30 years, we have successfully completed over 20,000 installations and our list of satisfied customers continues to grow. Kitchen Saver will exceed your expectations with superior quality and value you will have to see to believe. Prepare to be impressed!

Kitchen Saver Custom Cabinet Renewal is just one of your options. Take a look at the others and decide for yourself which one is right for you.

See below for a detailed explanation of your kitchen options.

Traditional cabinet refacing, also known as kitchen refacing, has been the project of choice of people who are looking to improve the look of their kitchen quickly and easily without the mess and inconvenience of a 3-5 week remodeling project. Cabinet refacing leaves your cabinet boxes in place and replaces your doors and drawer fronts while covering the fronts and sides of your cabinets with a matching veneer. The bottoms and tops of the cabinets are not covered. Drawer boxes and glides usually remain original and in-cabinet storage solutions are not addressed. Countertops may or may not be available.

The ideal customer for a traditional refacing project is someone who wants to make their kitchen look like new but is not concerned with it working like new. The quality varies, with thermofoil being used in many lower cost projects. Expect a 1-5 year warranty on the materials.

Before the Kitchen Saver Renewal process, cabinet replacement was the only option for people looking to make their kitchen look and work like new; traditional cabinet refacing only took care of the first. In this process, existing cabinets are completely removed and new cabinets are installed. Changing the layout is often not possible since the placement of kitchen cabinets is primarily dictated by the arrangement of the kitchen walls, windows, openings, and existing utilities like water and gas lines. Additional cabinets may be added if space permits. Cabinet replacement takes more time than most people expectanywhere from 10 days to 3 weeks. This is because of the numerous trades involved in the completion of the project and the challenges of scheduling. Most likely, a general contractor will take care of hiring the subcontractors: electricians, plumbers, demolition laborers, cabinet installer, and countertop installers.

It is important to note that with cabinet replacement, additional work that is not anticipated may be required. Its not uncommon to budget 20%-30% over the contracted price for such items as electrical and plumbing upgrades required by the building inspector, along with the replacement of flooring where the new cabinets do no match the footprint of the original cabinets. The quality of replacement cabinets varies greatly. The most commonly used cabinets are constructed with particle board and come with a 1-5 year warranty. Most consumers want something better, but quality cabinets can as much as double the cost, making the project unaffordable.

On the other end of the spectrum from cabinet refacing is a major kitchen remodel. This is the preferred option of those who want the complete freedom to design their kitchen without the limitations of the existing space. Major kitchen remodeling involves changing the layout of the kitchen by building additions or moving walls, as well as moving utilities such as water, gas and electrical.

For those people with an unlimited budget, a major remodel is a great option and can result in a striking showpiece kitchen like you may have seen in kitchen magazines or on HGTV. Expect to be without the use of your kitchen for 1 to 2 months or more.

Continue reading here:
Kitchen Cabinet Remodel, Replacement and Refacing ...

Cabinets play an important role in the kitchen and occupy much of its real estate, going a long way toward defining both the appearance and functionality of the room. Because of their prominence, if you dont love your cabinets, chances are that you dont love your kitchen. Sometimes, its just that simple, saysJoe Maykut, a product manager with Sears Home Services. As many consider the kitchen to be the heart of the home, updating its look and feel often ranks high on homeowners to-do lists. The hassle and expense of gut renovation, however, can stand in the way. Fortunately, according to Maykut, theres a compromise between doing nothing and going all out.

Because they basically make or break the kitchen, updating the cabinets can be a cost-effective way to achieve high-impact results without the high cost and inconvenience of a major renovation. Homeowners in search of a new look for their cabinetry typically weigh two options: cabinet refacing, which involves putting new doors and drawer fronts on the existing cabinet frames, or cabinet replacement. Refacing is the less invasive (and less expensive) of the two options, butdespite its higher price tag, replacement makes the most sense in certain situations, according to Maykut. For more information on each approach, along with the differences between the two, continue reading!

CABINET REFACING

For cost-conscious homeowners, cabinet refacing offers what Joe Maykut of Sears Home Services describes as tremendous bang for the buck. Thats because the completed project gives the kitchen a brand-new look, yet the work is confined to the cabinet doors and drawer fronts. The cabinet framesthe boxes that contain the shelves and drawersall remain in place. Strategically targeting the doors can save you a small fortune on labor and material costs, says Maykut, but ultimately the scope of the project depends on how youand any professionals involveddecide to handle the doors.

There are a number of approaches to take. One option: If you like the style of your existing cabinet doors but not their finish, it may be possible to apply a new coat of paint or stain. Traditional refinishing isnt always possible, notes Maykut. It depends on what material the cabinets are made of. For cabinet fronts constructed of a material that cannot be painted or stained, many homeowners consider adding a veneer. Others choose to install new cabinet doors, especially if the existing doors are damaged or out of fashion. With refacing, whatever route you take, Maykut notes that your kitchen doesnt have to go out of commission for several weeks.

For all its virtues, cabinet refacing isnt the right choice for every homeowner. If you do not like the current layout of your cabinets, for example, then refacing would be beside the point, Maykut says. Giving the cabinets a new look would do nothing to alter or improve their usability. Similarly, if your cabinets are poorly constructed or in any way compromised, paying to reface them would be, in Maykuts view, throwing good money after bad. To help figure out the best approach for your needs, Maykut recommends meeting with a contractor who can advise you on your options. Call around to get estimates from contractors in your area, or contact Sears Home Services for a free in-home consultation.

CABINET REPLACEMENT

Whereas refacing affects only the look of your cabinetry, replacement opens up the possibility of fundamentally changing the layout and functionality of your kitchen. To be sure, you could always just swap new cabinets into the space left by the old set. Homeowners who opt for replacement typically do so for reasons that go beyond aesthetics, Maykut says.They want a kitchen that reflects not only their style, but also how they cook and eat and entertain. In other words, new cabinets can transform the kitchen so that it more precisely responds to your familys habits and needs.

The more improvements you plan to make, the broader and more complex the project becomes. Particularly in the kitchen, where so many components fit tightly together, renovation often involves orchestrating a series of separate-but-related undertakings. For instance, Maykut explains, if you remove the base cabinets from one part of the kitchen, then youll have to add flooring where they once stood. Similarly, once youve decided to install new cabinets, you may be tempted to spring for new countertops as well. One thing leads to another, which means that cabinet replacement, already a more labor-intensive and expensive proposition than refacing, can run up significantly higher costs.

While some homeowners may consider refacing a do-it-yourself job, for all but the most ambitious, cabinet replacement is a job best left to the pros. But whichever route you choose, even if youre leaving the heavy lifting to the contractors, youll need to make the final design decisions. A little guidance along the way can smooth the process along. In fact, one reason to choose Sears Home Services is that, from the earliest stages onward, the company can guide you through what might otherwise be an overwhelming process. Of particular value, Sears sets itself apart by bringing the showroom to your home, according to Maykut, allowing you to see the products in the setting where they would be installed.

The kitchen plays a central role in the life of any household. Its where you pour that first morning cup of coffee, throw together casual family meals, and lovingly prepare holiday feasts. Remodel it, and youre going to live with the result for years to come. Dont you want to be sure that your kitchen will be a room youll love? Turn to Sears Home Services for a little peace of mind. The company even backs its work with a Satisfaction Guarantee, so right around the time when your local contractor might be saying goodbye, your relationship with Sears will only be beginning.

This post has been brought to you by Sears Home Services. Its facts and opinions are those of BobVila.com.

Original post:
Kitchen Cabinet Refacing vs. Replacing - Bob Vila