Aristocrat Leisure shares have jumped around five per cent in opening trade, after the gaming machine maker and provider said it is buying Israel-based social gaming company Plarium Global for $500 million.
At 1015 AEST, Aristocrat shares were trading at $21.81, up 4.9 per cent, after earlier lifting to $21.90.
The company says the acquisition of the Israel-based business increases its overall exposure to the fast growing digital market with pro forma Aristocrat Digital revenue contribution increasing from 14 per cent to 22 per cent.
Plarium is a privately owned free-to-play mobile, social and web-based game developer headquartered in Herzliya, Israel, with multiple offices throughout Europe, Israel and the US, and more than 1,200 employees across five genre-specific studios, Aristocrat said in a statement on Thursday.
