Mississippi gaming regulators sign off on Pinnacle acquisition

21 June 2013

By Howard Stutz

Mississippi gaming regulators on Thursday signed off on Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc.’s $2.8 billion acquisition of Ameristar Casinos, Inc.

The ruling comes a few days Pinnacle reached an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission over antitrust issues surrounding the deal.

Pinnacle will acquire the Ameristar Casino Hotel - Vicksburg, Mississippi, as part of the buyout.

“We continue to work diligently to obtain the Federal Trade Commission and remaining state gaming regulatory agency approvals necessary to complete the acquisition,” Pinnacle CEO Anthony Sanfilippo said in a statement. “We remain on track to close the transaction in the 2013 third quarter.”

Pinnacle agreed to sell its Lumiere Place in St. Louis and Ameristar’s under-construction hotel-casino in Lake Charles, La., to satisfy any FTC concerns.

Las Vegas-based Pinnacle is acquiring its regional casino rival for $26.50 per share and an assumption of $1.9 billion of Ameristar’s long-term debt.