Gateway Merges with Leisure Acquisition Corp Following a Costly Deal

Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Ltd – one of the biggest and most diversified gaming and entertainment Canadian operators – officially announced its merger with the publicly-listed Leisure Acquisition Corp.

Gateway’s Merger Estimated at $1.12-billion

In a statement released on Friday, Gateway Casinos has clarified that the company will merge with Leisure Acquisition Corp, a publicly listed company. The deal will cost $1.12 billion.

As a result, Gateway , which operates casinos and restaurant brands in British Columbia and Ontario, will arrive on the stock markets without going through an intial public offering (IPO) process.

The company’s shares will start public trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker “GTWY,” as soon as the deal has been closed.

In fact, GTWY Holdings Limited (“GTWY“), is the holding company that owns Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited. 

Presently, a big part of Gateway Casinos is property of Catalyst Capital Group Inc. known as “Catalyst“.

Catalyst, which is based it Toronto, was considering an IPO for Gateway Casinos at the end of 2015. Yet their interest in the Canadian company turned out to be temporary, confirmed sources familiar with the matter.

In 2012, Catalyst made another attempt to take Gateway public but it withdrew that IPO as well.

Gateway Continues Growing Following the Merger

For its part, Gateway has marked a strong profit growth in the past few years and has also expnaded its operations a great deal. 

Here are some of the current Gateway Business Highlights:

•  25 gaming and entertainment destinations in British Columbia and Ontario.
• A top market position in British Columbia and Ontario.
• Four principal casino brands, – Grand Villa, Starlight, Cascades and Playtime as well as Atlas Steak + Fish, Match Eatery & Public House, Chow Lucky Noodle Bar and The Buffet.

With the future partnership Gateway hopes to become even stronger and to continue bringing attractive returns to its shareholders. 

The company’s management commented on their satisfaction by the participation of HG Vora ,a fund that operates on behalf of some of its affiliates, in the merger.

“As we seek to execute against our many growth initiatives and deliver additional shareholder value, we are excited to partner with Leisure and appreciative of the confidence in our future as demonstrated by HG Vora’s investment commitment, “ they said.

HG Vora participates in the merger with a commitment of $30 million. Totally the company has invested a capital of more than $100 million so far  

The new combined company that will be established following the merger is going to use its available financial resources to  pay fees and expenses on transactions, repay the full GTWY’s holding co. loan of US$154 million , repay partially Gateway’s operating company term loan.