The acquisition deal between Boyd Gaming Corporation and Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc., has—finally—come to a successful conclusion. Boyd announced on Monday that it is now the proud owner of four properties formally owned by Pinnacle, giving it a substantial footprint and boosted portfolio.
Boyd now owns The Belterra Casino Resort in Indiana, Belterra Park in Ohio, and the Ameristar St. Charles and Ameristar Kansas City, both of which are located in Missouri. The transaction includes a deal that will see Boyd enter into a lease agreement with Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (GLPI), the owner of the real estate of all the properties, except for Belterra Park. For that casino, Boyd acquired the real estate and the casino’s operations through financing that was provided by GLPI.
Boyd recently completed the acquisition of the Valley Forge Casino Resort in Pennsylvania. That deal was consummated on September 17, expanding Boyd’s portfolio to include 29 properties across 10 U.S. states. It now operates in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Kansas, Nevada, Illinois, Iowa, Mississippi, Louisiana and Missouri.
According to Boyd’s president and CEO, Keith Smith, “By adding these four high-quality properties, we have significantly expanded our portfolio and enhanced our free cash flow profile at a compelling multiple. We have gained a strong presence in three of the Midwest’s largest gaming markets, with access to millions of potential new customers. We are pleased to welcome the Ameristar and Belterra team members to Boyd Gaming, and look forward to great success together.”
The deal was first detailed in December 2017. It would see Boyd pick up a number of Pinnacle properties, provided Penn National Gaming (PNG) took a few of the remaining Pinnacle assets. As the months progressed, regulators, including the Missouri Gaming Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, signed off on the deal that would see PNG ultimately become the largest regional gaming operator in the United States.
Boyd has been around since 1975. It now controls a total of 1.76 million square feet of casino space that houses around 38,000 gaming machines, 900 table games and over 11,000 hotel rooms. It is a publicly traded company, found on the NYSE under the symbol BYD.
