Scientific Games Corp. has decided to buy Bally Technologies Inc. for an amount of approximately $3.3 billion. The amount excludes the net debt. This deal of buying a bigger rival as will help it to accelerate consolidation of the slot-machine industry.

Controlled by Ronald Perelman, a billionaire Scientific Games will be paying $83.30 in cash for a Bally common share. This announcement was made by the companies in a statement today. It will be a premium of 38 percent on the closing price of Bally's share as on Thursday.

This is the second acquisition in less than a year that amounts over $1 billion for Scientific Games, that too, at a time when the industry for gambling-equipment faces the brunt of feeble consumer spending. Casinos face a massive competition from the similar Web based applications.

The companies expect an annual cost saving of $220 million and saving of $25 million in annual capital-expenditure by combining operations and gathering efficiencies in the process of engineering, manufacturing, field and customer service as well as administrative operations.

Stifel analyst, Steven Wieczynski, wrote in a note, "Combined, Scientific Games and Bally Technologies will effectively be able to compete with Gtech/IGT in every aspect of gaming."