Mississippi Approves Ameristar Casinos Acquisition by Pinnacle Entertainment
Pinnacle Entertainment (NYSE:PNK) announced today that the Mississippi Gaming Commission unanimously approved the Company's proposed acquisition of Ameristar Casinos.
"We thank the Mississippi Gaming Commission for expeditiously approving our proposed acquisition of Ameristar Casinos, and look forward to welcoming the guests and team members of Ameristar Vicksburg to the Pinnacle Entertainment family in the near future. Ameristar Casino Hotel Vicksburg is a terrific addition to our portfolio and nicely complements our existing operations in the region," said Anthony Sanfilippo, Chief Executive Officer of Pinnacle Entertainment.
"We continue to work diligently to obtain the Federal Trade Commission and remaining state gaming regulatory agency approvals necessary to complete the acquisition. We remain on track to close the transaction in the 2013 third quarter," Mr. Sanfilippo continued.
On May 28, 2013, the Commission issued an administrative complaint regarding the proposed acquisition. Since that time, the parties have made significant progress toward resolving the matter without the need for administrative litigation.
Consequently, on June 13, 2013, Federal Trade Commission Chief Administrative Law Judge D. Michael Chappell granted Pinnacle's and Ameristar's unopposed motion to extend the deadline to respond to the administrative complaint by 30 days.
Pinnacle shares closed 4.8 percent to $18.65 ahead of the announcement Thursday.
Completion of the transaction remains subject to the receipt of additional required regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
