Gtech Holdings Ends Plan to Buy NTN

Gtech Holdings Corp. said it ended its plan to buy money-losing interactive game maker NTN Communications Inc. for $140 million, cheering investors who disapproved of the acquisition. The two companies were unable to reach a final agreement and decided to conduct their businesses separately, Gtech and NTN said. Gtech spokesman Robert Rendine and Laura Kass, NTN’s general counsel, said a confidentiality agreement prevented them from saying why the talks had broken down. Investors applauded the cancellation because some analysts thought Gtech was paying too much for a company whose survival was in question. Shares of Gtech rose $3.69 to close at $33.56 on the New York Stock Exchange. Before trading of its stock was halted, shares of Carlsbad-based NTN fell 38 cents to $3.63 on the American Stock Exchange. Gtech and NTN reached a tentative agreement in June for the purchase of NTN at $5.125 a share in cash. The acquisition would have added to Gtech’s World Wide Web trivia operations and other interactive television games the company runs at bars and restaurants. Gtech, based in West Greenwich, R.I., is the world’s largest supplier of lottery services and products.