By BBBB
Casino operator Boyd Gaming has reportedly contacted Penn Entertainment to express its interest in acquiring the company.
Following reports of the approach, Boyd stock fell 3% to $51.90 while Penn’s shares jumped 8% to $19.89.
There have been no indications as of yet as to how much the takeover bid would be, but Penn’s current market cap hovers around the $2.7 billion mark while estimates suggest that the company has an actual market value of around $9 billion once debt is included.
Boyd Gaming’s market cap sits at $5.09 billion while the company has a market value of around $7.8 billion including debt.
Should the deal go through, it would be the largest merger of US gambling companies since Eldorado Resorts acquired Caesars Entertainment in a $17.3 billion deal in 2020.
Any merger would need to be approved by regulators in several states as both companies have operations across the country.
Based in Las Vegas, Boyd has 28 gaming entertainment properties across 10 U.S. states. The company also runs a tribal casino in California and maintains a 5% state in Flutter’s FanDuel.
Meanwhile Penn operates 43 racetracks and casinos in 20 U.S. states. The company also offers online sports betting and online casino gambling through its deal with Disney that sees it operate the ESPN Bet brand.
Since Boyd’s casino operations will overlap with Penn’s in some states, there may be a need to divest some properties and operations to allow the deal to go ahead.
Neither Penn nor Boyd have commented on the reports as of yet.
English