Under the leadership of President and Chief Executive Officer Ramesh Srinivasan,  Bally Technologies has announced an acquisition of SHFL entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ Global Select Market: SHFL) (“SHFL”) at a per share price of $23.25 in cash for total consideration of approximately $1.3 billion.

The acquisition price represents a premium of 24 percent to the closing price of SHFL common stock on July 15, 2013.  The transaction, which was unanimously approved by both the Bally and SHFL Boards of Directors, combines two best-in-class, highly complementary and customer-centric gaming technology companies with a shared commitment to innovation to create a company offering the gaming industry’s most diversified suite of products.  After making an announcement, Bally’s stock surged 8% on Tuesday, July 16^th. 

“Both Bally and SHFL have long histories of proven innovation, excellent customer service and successfully anticipating and adapting to changes within our industry, which makes bringing our two companies together a great strategic fit,” said Ramesh Srinivasan, Bally’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “The transformational acquisition of SHFL – which joins two high-caliber, talented and creative teams – will further enhance our ability to deliver future growth and serve our customers.  SHFL’s intellectual property, renowned brands and industry-leading suite of diverse, high-performance products will enable us to offer an unparalleled offering of gaming products and services, which – when combined with our content, technology, operational capabilities and respective geographic footprints – will provide the most comprehensive product portfolio offered around the world.”

Ramesh, a graduate of IIT-BHU and IIM Bangalore joined Bally in 2005 as Executive Vice President of Systems, responsible for the Systems business unit. Since March 2011, Ramesh has led Bally to multiple consecutive quarters of year-over-year revenue growth in Games Sales and record revenue levels in Games Operations. During Ramesh’s tenure, Bally’s market cap has increased approximately four-fold.

Prior to joining Bally, Ramesh was Executive Vice President, Warehouse Management Systems, with Manhattan Associates, a leader in supply-chain execution software solutions. Manhattan Associates grew rapidly during the approximately seven years Ramesh was with the Company. Prior to joining Manhattan Associates, Ramesh worked in a variety of organizations including Mattel Toys, Tata Economic Consultancy Services, and Infosys Technologies.

In 2006 and 2010, Global Gaming Business magazine named Ramesh “One of the Top 25 Personalities to Watch” in the gaming industry, making him the only gaming-industry professional to have been named twice in the annual list during the past decade.

As of June 2013 Ramesh owns 78,142 shares of Bally Technologies with a total market value of over $ 5 million.

More on Ramesh Srinivasan and the friendly merger…http://www.reviewjournal.com/columns-blogs/inside-gaming/bally-adds-shfl-friendly-merger