Golden Nugget parent company ends SPAC dispute with $33m settlement

Fertitta Entertainment (FEI) has sidestepped a potentially damaging legal battle with FAST Acquisition Corporation by agreeing a $33m termination settlement with its former SPAC partner.

Issuing a joint statement, the Golden Nugget Online Gaming parent company and the SPAC operator confirmed they had “simultaneously terminated” the agreement therefore financially resolving their differences.

Through a combination of upfront and deferred payments, part of which are contingent on whether FAST Acquisition completes a SPAC merger, FEI will pay FAST and its shareholders up to $33m.

The settlement includes a payment to the SPAC which will be used to cover expenses associated with the terminated transaction as well as a replenishment of the SPAC’s working capital account.

FAST Acquisition has said it intends to continue to seek a business combination with another operating company.

The US SPAC initially agreed to merge with FEI in February, in a deal that was worth an estimated $6.6bn, and something which would potentially allow FEI to become a publicly traded company.

In July, the value of the deal rose to $8.6bn following the inclusion of several parts of FEI’s Landry restaurant business. FAST also reached an agreement to purchase Catch restaurant, including Catch Steak, which is already 50% indirectly owned by FEI.

Despite both parties clearly making moves to complete, the deal did not conclude by the proposed termination date for talks of 1 December, prompting FEI to send written notice of its intention to end the SPAC merger proceedings.

The notice provoked consternation, with the blank-check firm citing the late delivery of financial documentation by FEI required to move the merger forward, documents which were initially supposed to be delivered in March but were only received by the firm in July.

FAST Acquisition had previously threatened FEI with legal action, something which will now no longer take place following the mutually agreed settlement.

Resolving their differences amicably, the former business partners each voiced their respect for the other.

FEI founder and Golden Nugget Online Gaming’s largest shareholder Tillman Fertitta said: “I have a lot of respect for the FAST team and will support them however I can as they continue to search for a merger target.

“At the end of the day we ultimately determined that the right decision for my company was to remain private at this time, and I look forward to continuing to grow our business both organically and in-organically,” he added.

FAST Acquisition founder Doug Jacob echoed his opposite number’s comments, waxing lyrical about the FEI business: “We wish Tilman and his team the best of luck as they remain a private company.

“Through this settlement we ensured that we are sufficiently capitalised to seek a new target and that we could continue our efforts to maximise value for our shareholders,” Jacob added.