Penn National Gaming to Acquire Pinnacle Entertainment
Pinnacle Shareholders to Receive
Enhances Penn National’s Position as North America’s Leading Regional Gaming Operator and Further Diversifies Its Best-in-Class Portfolio of Gaming Assets
Immediately Accretive to Free Cash Flow Per Share; Expected to Generate
Definitive Agreements with
Post-Synergy Acquisition Multiple of 6.6x LTM EBITDA
Penn National and Pinnacle to Host Joint Conference Call and Webcast at
Pinnacle owns and operates 16 gaming and entertainment facilities in 11 jurisdictions across
Mr. Wilmott continued, “The combined company will benefit from enhanced scale, additional growth opportunities and best-in-class operations, creating a more efficient integrated gaming company. Going forward, we will have the financial and operational flexibility to further execute on our strategic objectives, while maintaining our track record of industry-leading profit margins and generating significant cash flow to reduce leverage over time. We look forward to welcoming Pinnacle’s talented employees to our team and to further enhancing our status as North America’s leading regional gaming operator.”
Mr. Sanfilippo continued, “Pinnacle shareholders will receive immediate value from the cash consideration, as well as participation in the longer-term growth of Penn National that we expect will occur from the integration of these two great companies into a more efficient, larger-scale gaming entertainment platform. We are also pleased that
Compelling Strategic and Financial Benefits
- Increased Scale and Broader Geographic Diversification: The acquisition will further establish Penn National as North America’s leading regional gaming operator, benefitting from a broader, deeper base of properties, greater economies of scale and increased purchasing power. The combined company will operate 41 properties across 20 jurisdictions with approximately 53,500 slots, 1,300 tables and 8,300 hotel rooms, and will have more than 35,000 employees. In addition, by combining two of the top customer loyalty programs in the industry, Penn National will be better positioned to drive play within its portfolio, in particular at
Tropicana Las Vegas and M Resort .
- Creates Opportunity for Meaningful Synergies: Penn National has identified
$100 million in annual run-rate cost synergies driven by the elimination of corporate overhead redundancies and improved property level efficiencies, with limited incremental costs required to scale operations and integrate Pinnacle’s properties.
- Enhances Innovative Growth Strategy: The acquisition will leverage Penn National’s portfolio of regional and destination gaming properties and social gaming platforms across Pinnacle’s portfolio of complementary assets. The combined company will benefit from additional promotional opportunities in online and social gaming, which will help provide an additional boost to property level performance.
- Immediately Accretive to Free Cash Flow: Penn National expects the acquisition of Pinnacle to be immediately accretive to free cash flow per share in the first year. The strong free cash flow generation from the combined companies will enhance Penn National’s ability to de-lever its balance sheet, pursue strategic opportunities and ultimately return capital to shareholders.
Divestitures
In connection with the transaction, Penn National has entered into a definitive agreement with Boyd in which Boyd will purchase Pinnacle’s gaming operations at Ameristar Kansas City and
Definitive Agreements and Master Lease Amendments with
- Penn National and GLPI will enter into a sale and leaseback of the real estate associated with
Belterra Park andPlainridge Park Casino for approximately$315 million . - An amendment to the terms of the Pinnacle master lease following closing of the merger to reflect an annual fixed rent payment of
$25 million forPlainridge Park Casino and$13.9 million in incremental annual rent to adjust to market conditions. - At closing, GLPI and Boyd will enter into a master lease agreement for the divestitures pursuant to which Boyd will lease the divested real property from GLPI (including the real property underlying
Belterra Park ). - Penn National will assume the existing master lease and Pinnacle’s existing lease for the
Meadows Casino and Racetrack inPennsylvania . Penn National’s master lease with GLPI will not be affected by this transaction.
Financing
Penn National has received committed financing for the transaction, subject to customary conditions, from
Approvals and Timing
The transaction is subject to approval of the shareholders of Penn National and Pinnacle, the approval of applicable gaming authorities, the expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and other customary closing conditions. The companies expect the transaction to close in the second half of 2018.
Upon completion of the transaction Penn National and Pinnacle shareholders will hold 78 percent and 22 percent, respectively, of the combined company’s outstanding shares.
Advisors
Conference Call and Webcast
Penn National and Pinnacle will host a conference call and simultaneous webcast today,
About Penn National
About Pinnacle
About
Headquartered in
About GLPI
GLPI is engaged in the business of acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements, pursuant to which the tenant is responsible for all facility maintenance, insurance required in connection with the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties, taxes levied on or with respect to the leased properties and all utilities and other services necessary or appropriate for the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties. GLPI expects to grow its portfolio by pursuing opportunities to acquire additional gaming facilities to lease to gaming operators. GLPI also intends to diversify its portfolio over time, including by acquiring properties outside the gaming industry to lease to third parties. GLPI elected to be taxed as a REIT for
Forward-looking Statements
This communication may contain certain forward-looking statements, including certain plans, expectations, goals, projections, and statements about the benefits of the proposed transaction, Penn National’s and Pinnacle’s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, the expected timing of completion of the transaction, and other statements that are not historical facts. Such statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties. Statements that do not describe historical or current facts, including statements about beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “intend,” “estimate,” “plan,” “target,” “goal,” or similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “may,” “might,” “should,” “would,” “could,” or similar variations. The forward-looking statements are intended to be subject to the safe harbor provided by Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. While there is no assurance that any list of risks and uncertainties or risk factors is complete, below are certain factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained or implied in the forward-looking statements including: risks related to the acquisition of Pinnacle by Penn National and the integration of the businesses and assets to be acquired; the possibility that the proposed transaction does not close when expected or at all because required regulatory, shareholder or other approvals are not received or other conditions to the closing are not satisfied on a timely basis or at all; the risk that the financing required to fund the transaction is not obtained on the terms anticipated or at all; the possibility that the Boyd and/or GLPI deals do not close in a timely fashion or at all; potential adverse reactions or changes to business or employee relationships, including those resulting from the announcement or completion of the transaction; potential litigation challenging the transaction; the possibility that the anticipated benefits of the transaction are not realized when expected or at all, including as a result of the impact of, or issues arising from, the integration of the two companies; the possibility that the anticipated divestitures are not completed in the anticipated timeframe or at all; the possibility that additional divestures may be required; the possibility that the transaction may be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events; diversion of management’s attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities; litigation relating to the transaction; risks associated with increased leverage from the transaction; and additional factors discussed in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Penn National’ and Pinnacle’ respective most recent Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K as filed with the
Additional Information
This communication does not constitute an offer to buy or solicitation of an offer to sell any securities. In connection with the proposed transaction, Penn National intends to file with the
Certain Information Regarding Participants
Penn National and Pinnacle and their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in respect of the proposed transaction under the rules of the
Contacts:
Penn National
Investor Relations:
Justin Sebastiano
Vice President, Finance & Treasurer
Justin.Sebastiano@pngaming.com
610-401-2029
General Media Inquiries:
SVP, Public Affairs
Eric.Schippers@pngaming.com
610-378-8321
Pinnacle
General Media Inquiries:
Troy A. Stremming
EVP Government Relations & Public Affairs
Troy.Stremming@pnkmail.com
816-414-7106
Investor Relations:
Vice President & Treasurer
Vincent.Zahn@pnkmail.com
702-541-7777
Source: Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc.