Penn National Gaming’s $2bn acquisition of theScore clears final hurdle
TheScore shareholders overwhelmingly back multi-billion-dollar sale which is expected to conclude on 19 October
Penn National Gaming’s (PNG) $2bn deal to acquire theScore cleared its final regulatory hurdle as theScore shareholders overwhelmingly voted in favour of the sale. In a shareholder meeting at theScore’s Toronto headquarters, more than 99% of class A subordinate voting shareholders approved the transaction, with 100% of special voting shareholders granting their assent.
PNG received regulatory approval for the deal from Canada’s Minister for Canadian Heritage earlier this month. Subject to receipt of a final court order approving the takeover scheme from the British Columbia Supreme Court, the sale will complete on 19 October. TheScore has been a strategic partner of PNG since 2019 via a market-access agreement encompassing 11 US states, including ‘first skin’ access rights in Louisiana and Mississippi. PNG said it expects to operate theScore as a standalone business, independent from the firm and the Barstool Sportsbook and under the stewardship of its existing management team. TheScore CEO John Levy will continue to head up theScore business alongside COO Benjie Levy, who is also his son. A big part of the deal’s rationale is based on the potential of the new Canadian sports betting market, which is rapidly expanding following the passage of laws approving single-event sports betting in August. Toronto-headquartered theScore is the number one sports app in Canada and is therefore a prime candidate to exploit the soon-to-launch Ontario online sports betting market. Another major rationale for the transaction is that PNG will eventually be able to control its own in-house tech stack. This will reduce its current reliance on third-party providers. TheScore’s proprietary player account management platform (PAM) has also been cited as an important asset for PNG going forward. The business is currently in the process of building an in-house sportsbook offering, with risk and trading to be consolidated in-house over the next year. That project is being led by industry veteran Patrick Jay.