Paul-Son shareholders approve acquisition

Friday, Sept. 13, 2002 | 11:15 a.m.

Shareholders of Las Vegas casino equipment supplier Paul-Son Gaming Corp. on Thursday approved the acquisition of French gaming equipment maker Etablissements Bourgogne et Grasset and Bourgogne's Las Vegas-based subsidiary, the Bud Jones Co.

Under the stock swap deal, Bourgogne executive Gerard Charlier becomes president and chief executive officer of the combined company, taking over that position from Paul-Son head Eric Endy. Endy, who will continue as a company director, relinquishes his seat as board chairman to the company's new controlling shareholder, Francois Carrette.

The company had previously announced that Paul-Son would acquire 100 percent of Bourgogne. In return, Bourgogne stockholders would receive nearly 4 million shares of Paul-Son common stock, or about 53 percent of the company's outstanding shares. Paul-Son would also acquire all outstanding shares of the Bud Jones Co.

The combined company will continue to be called Paul-Son Gaming Corp. and will be headquartered in Las Vegas, with offices in France, Mexico, Atlantic City and other locations.

The fate of Paul-Son's more than 400 employees could not be determined by press time today, though a press release noted that the combined company aims to cut costs by reducing "redundant functions and operations."

Paul-Son also expanded its board of directors from four to seven positions. Carrette, Charlier and Alain Thieffry were designated to the company's board by the its new controlling stockholder, Holding Wilson S.A. A fourth person will be designated in the near future, the company said. Three members from Paul-Son's prior board of directors, Endy, Jerry West and Paul Dennis, were also named to the board.

The combined company aims to cut costs by combining manufacturing facilities and reducing redundant operations.

"This combination creates an industry-leading company in the casino table supply business," Charlier said. "We believe that B&G's international distribution channels and Paul-Son's and Bud Jones' domestic distribution channels will provide a powerful global distribution network for our products."

Paul-Son, which trades on the Nasdaq Stock Market, makes a variety of supplies including dice, casino chips, cards, table game layouts and casino furniture. For the fiscal year ended May 2002, the company reported a 19 percent decline in revenue and a 57 percent decline in profits, in part due to a decline in new casino openings and expansions.

Bourgogne, of Beaune, France, is a privately held supplier of chips, table game layouts, tables and other equipment to casinos in Europe and Asia.

Paul-Son resumed merger talks after calling off the deal after a missed deadline.