NEW YORK — Pinnacle Entertainment, which is in process of splitting into two companies, confirmed Monday that it is in talks to sell its real estate assets to Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc.
Shares of both companies rose Monday.
In March, casino property owner Gaming and Leisure Properties publicly announced that it offered to buy Pinnacle's real estate assets in a deal it valued at $4.1 billion, including debt. At the time, Pinnacle said it would review the offer. Under the proposed deal, Pinnacle shareholders would receive about $36 in assets for each share they own, or about $2.17 billion. Pinnacle shareholders would receive one share of Pinnacle's casino operation business and 0.5517 shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties for each Pinnacle share they own.
Las Vegas-based Pinnacle, which owns and operates 15 casinos, has been in the process of splitting into two separate publicly traded companies since November. One company would own the real estate assets of its casinos and another would operate the casinos and rent the properties from the real estate company.
Pinnacle said Monday that there was no guarantee a deal with Gaming and Leisure Properties will happen. In a separate statement Monday, Gaming and Leisure Properties CEO Peter Carlino said that the company has held "very productive, substantive discussions" with Pinnacle.
"We are impressed with the results they continue to achieve," said Carlino. "They have been very cordial and professional in our dealings with them and are a team that we would very much like to partner with not only on this transaction but on future opportunities as well."
Gaming and Leisure Properties, which is based in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, is a real estate investment trust that owns casino properties that it leases to casino operators.
Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. shares rose 77 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $37.90 in morning trading Monday. Shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. rose 93 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $36.62.