2338 GMT - Aristocrat Leisure has significant balance sheet capacity for M&A amid speculation it could be lining up a deal in the U.S., says Morgan Stanley. Aristocrat had net debt of A$1.14 billion at the end of FY 2024. Its net debt-to-Ebitda ratio of 0.4x was well below a target range of 1.0-2.0x. Analyst Melinda K. Baxter notes that Aristocrat received US$600 million in proceeds from the sale of its Plarium business, of which US$250 million will be used to repay some debt. "Based on Aristocrat's target net debt range and inclusive of the additional US$600 million in proceeds, Aristocrat has debt headroom of A$3.5 billion-A$6.0 billion," MS says. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 11, 2025 19:38 ET (23:38 GMT)
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