Pinnacle Entertainment Completes Ameristar Acquisition

(RTTNews) - Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. (PNK) said Wednesday that it has completed the acquisition of Ameristar Casinos, Inc. (ASCA).

Ameristar stockholders are receiving $26.50 per share in cash for each share of Ameristar common stock. The deal is valued at about $2.8 billion, including assumed debt.

The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to Pinnacle Entertainment's free cash flow and earnings per share.

As a result of the acquisition, Pinnacle Entertainment added eight properties and will operate a total of 16 properties in nine states, excluding the Ameristar Casino Lake Charles development project and Pinnacle's Lumiere Place Casino and Hotels which are potentially being divested.

Pinnacle Entertainment has agreed to divest the Ameristar Casino Lake Charles development project and Lumiere Place Casino and Hotels in order to obtain Federal Trade Commission clearance to complete the merger. The company expects to use the proceeds from those planned divestitures to repay term loans and reduce leverage.

The company has already entered into a definitive agreement to sell the Ameristar Casino Lake Charles development project to Golden Nugget. The company is in advanced talkss with potential buyers of Lumiere Place Casino and Hotels, and expects to enter into a definitive agreement for its divestiture in the third quarter of 2013.