

The transaction was previously announced on June 14, 2021.Īffinity Interactive has offerings in regional gaming and horse wagering, and is soon to launch social gaming, iGaming, and sports betting, reaching one million customers across the U.S.

("ZCG"), a leading privately-held asset manager, today announced the completion of the merger of its affiliated portfolio companies, Affinity Gaming ("Affinity"), a diversified national casino gaming operator, and Sports Information Group, LLC ("SIG"), a New York-based B2B and B2C global omnichannel sports, technology, digital, media and wagering business, creating Affinity Interactive (the "Company").
Affinity gaming free#
The company’s directors are also free under the new rules to pursue business opportunities that compete with Affinity, and are safe from liability for breach of fiduciary duty for failing to tell the company about such opportunities.NEW YORK, J/PRNewswire/ - Z Capital Partners, L.L.C., the private equity arm of Z Capital Group, L.L.C. “Especially troubling are the provisions denying shareholders any right to vote on fundamental changes such as a merger,” Bebchuk told Reuters on Monday. Lucian Bebchuk, who directs Harvard Law’s corporate governance program, said the new provisions sound like “serious departures” from good governance. According to SEC filings, it hired Jefferies & Co Inc to solicit bids in that deal. On Friday, it closed a deal to sell three Nevada casinos to Truckee Gaming LLC in a $17.4 million deal.

Z Capital in its letter said that constituted a “conflict of interest.”Īsset sales have been a key component of Affinity’s restructuring. Z Capital has also objected to Affinity’s use of its chairman, Don Kornstein, a former Bear Stearns investment banker, to represent the company in asset sales since Affinity has come out of bankruptcy, namely a 2012 asset swap with Golden Gaming Inc. The new provisions strip language giving shareholders the right to vote on mergers or sales, and make it more difficult for them to inspect the company’s books and records. Under the new rules, submitted to the Nevada Secretary of State, directors have discretion to determine suitability of shareholders, and appointing new directors now requires a majority, rather than plurality, of stockholder approval. 20 Affinity’s board updated bylaws in ways that appear to reduce shareholder influence over its operations. 19 letter to Affinity’s board it said it would “seek representation on the company’s board to permit us to fulfill our fiduciary duty to our own investors.” It also heaped praise on Chief Executive David Ross and his team, saying the “current management team is an outstanding one that should be fully supported.”Īffinity has not commented publicly on Z Capital’s aspirations or its efforts to earn board membership, and the company declined to comment for this story.īut on Dec. Z Capital has made no secret of its aim to own a substantial chunk of Affinity, saying in SEC filings last year that it may ultimately acquire a controlling stake.Īnd, in an Oct. Silver Point, the second-largest shareholder, owned 24.9 percent of Affinity as of December, according to SEC filings.Īffinity owns hotels and casinos in Nevada, including Primm Valley Casino Resorts and Terrible’s Hotel & Casino, as well as resorts in Colorado and Missouri. Large investors like Z Capital and Silver Point Capital have been buying up shares in Affinity ever since. The investor has been steadily raising its stake since first earning an equity share through the company’s bankruptcy.Īffinity, previously called Herbst Gaming Inc, declared bankruptcy in Nevada in 2009, with a plan to split off its slot machine company and give creditors the equity in a new casino operator that became Affinity. Securities & Exchange Commission on Monday night and Tuesday afternoon, Z Capital said it raised its stake in Affinity to 30.5 percent from 24.97 percent. Feb 5 (Reuters) - Distressed investor Z Capital Partners has upped its ownership stake in Affinity Gaming Corp, the latest twist in a brewing dispute over control of the formerly bankrupt casino operator.
