Investment company Apollo Global Management buys Great Canadian Gaming, owner of Hastings

Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, which owns and operates Hastings Racecourse in Vancouver and 22 gambling facilities across Canada, including a casino at Woodbine outside Toronto, has agreed to be acquired by funds managed by the publicly traded investment company Apollo Global Management, the two companies announced on Wednesday.

The Apollo Funds will acquire all of the shares of Great Canadian for $30.03 a share, which the companies said is a 59 percent premium over the volume-weighted average price of Great Canadian’s shares over the past 30 days. At that price, the transaction has a value of $2.54 billion.

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In the announcement of the deal, Apollo said that it “anticipates that certain Canadian institutions may co-invest in the transaction to become equity owners.” Apollo also said that it is “committed to maintaining the company’s current operational footprint and anticipates Great Canadian’s properties will increase under the Apollo Funds’ ownership.”

The parties said that they expect the transaction to close in the second quarter of 2021, following a wide variety of regulatory approvals.

In addition to Hastings and the Woodbine casino, Great Canadian operates Flamboro Downs and Georgian Downs, two harness tracks. Its freestanding casinos are located from the far east of Canada to the far west.