Penn Entertainment is set to acquire the remaining shares of Barstool Sports it doesn’t already own after having purchased 36% of the company in 2020 for $161.2m. This would give the casino operator complete control of the sports and pop culture company.
During a legal filing on Wednesday, Penn said it would exercise its call rights to purchase the remaining 64% of Barstool shares by February 2023. Terms of this deal were outlined in the company’s second-quarter financial results, which stated that Penn would buy the rest of Barstool in two stages for a total of $387m.
Penn is coming off a record quarter where it generated $1.6bn. Its interactive segment (which includes Barstool Sportsbook) – as well as theScore Bet and slot machines – generated $142m in revenue in the quarter, a 40% annual rise.
Penn has launched sportsbooks under the Barstool brand name in four locations across several states, with the latest located at the Hollywood Casino at The Meadows, Pennsylvania. The Barstool betting app is available in 11 states.
Penn changed its name from Penn National Gaming earlier this month and its interest in owning Barstool is seen as a pivot to a younger audience. Barstool, established in 2003, is perceived to appeal more to the millennial and Zoomer demographics, running clickbait stories about Twitter battles and the like.
However, the quality of content is not the most controversial issue surrounding this deal. In November 2021, Insider magazine detailed sexual misconduct claims made against Barstool founder Dave Portnoy. Penn CEO Jay Snowden had to urge investors to be patient over the allegations in February this year.
