Acquisition · Amusement and entertainment (claw machines)
GENDA buys US claw machine operator National Entertainment Network for about $31 million
- Buyer
- GENDA (via Kiddleton) (Tokyo)
- Target
- National Entertainment Network (Claw Holdings), Colorado
- Value
- About $31M (about ¥4.87B)
- Status
- Completed November 1, 2024.
- Date
- 2024-06-11
GENDA, the Tokyo operator of GiGO arcades, bought Claw Holdings, owner of National Entertainment Network, which runs claw and vending machines at about 8,000 unstaffed spots such as supermarkets and restaurants across the US. The price was about $31 million. NEN had about ¥15.6 billion in sales.
Why it matters
The deal raised GENDA's US machine sites more than 20 times. It was the first of several US amusement purchases GENDA made in 2024 and 2025.
About NEN
National Entertainment Network was founded in 1995 and is based in Louisville, Colorado. Its claw machines, bulk candy vending, kiddie games and video games sit in stores and restaurants such as Walmart, Kroger and Denny's. It has a nationwide repair network and a facility in Grand Prairie, Texas, where it repairs, wraps and stores machines. Its earnings before depreciation were about $8 million.
GENDA's plan
GENDA's US unit Kiddleton, based in Dallas, brings Japanese-style prize machines and "kawaii" prizes made by GENDA group companies. Its sites earn about three times as much each as NEN's, and GENDA plans to bring that know-how, plus card readers and digital memberships, to NEN's network. Brown Gibbons Lang advised GENDA.
Sources
Kakehashi M&A News home
