Affinity Gaming SPAC Partner Boosts Offering Size to $175 Million

Posted on: February 5, 2021, 09:12h. 

Last updated on: February 5, 2021, 02:05h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Gaming & Hospitality Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:GHACU) increased the size of its recent initial public offering (IPO). The corporation is a result of the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merging with Affinity Gaming.

Affinity Gaming SPAC
Affinity Gaming’s Buffalo Bill’s Casino in Primm, Nev., seen here. The company’s SPAC partner increased its IPO size. (Image: Pinterest)

Earlier this week, the blank-check firm sold 17,500,000 units at $10.00 per unit, raising $175 million in gross proceeds. That’s above the $150 million to $172.5 million the SPAC expected to raise.

The company is a blank check company, according to a statement. “While the company may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any industry or sector, the company intends to focus on acquisition opportunities in the gaming and hospitality sectors,” the statement said.

Gaming & Hospitality issued 2.5 million more units than initially expected. Each unit is comprised of one share of common equity and a third of a warrant redeemable at $11.50.

Unique SPAC Methodology Happening Here

Regardless of industry, standard operating procedure for blank-check outfits is to raise capital via an IPO and then hunt for a merger target, paving the way for the acquired firm to go public.

Gaming & Hospitality is coming together with Affinity Gaming, the owner of the Silver Sevens Casino in Las Vegas. However, Affinity isn’t the company going public. Rather, the SPAC and the gaming company are combining forces, tapping the latter’s gaming expertise to find another merger partner.

In a regulatory document published before the SPAC’s IPO, Gaming & Hospitality said there’s a strong addressable market in distributed and regional gaming. These are two areas that mesh well with Affinity’s core competencies.

Affinity also operates Buffalo Bill’s, Rail City Casino, and Primm Valley Resort & Casino in Nevada. It also owns the Lakeside Hotel Casino in Iowa and the Mark Twain Casino and St. Jo Frontier Casino in Missouri.

“Target businesses that we are focused on in this sector include, but are not limited to, regional gaming, distributed gaming, online gaming/sports betting, and gaming technology and equipment. In particular, we believe there is a robust addressable market in regional and distributed gaming,” according to the SPAC.

SPAC Fever Continues in Gaming Industry

Blank-check companies have two years to execute a deal before being forced to liquidate shares and return the cash to investors.

If the start to 2021 for the gaming/SPAC combination is an accurate harbinger, Gaming & Hospitality shareholders won’t be waiting 24 months for a merger announcement.

Just this week, $7.7 billion in deals involving blank-check and gaming companies were announced. On Monday, Tilman Fertitta’s Fertitta Entertainment said it’s merging with blank-check firm FAST Acquisition (NYSE:FST) in a transaction valuing the Golden Nugget operator at $6.6 billion.

Later that day, Acies Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:ACAC) said it’s merging with social casino operator Playstudios in a $1.1 billion deal.

Those announcements come after three gaming companies went public in December following SPAC marriages.