Indigenous-owned Pure Casino Entertainment LP is offering to buy publicly traded Gamehost Inc. GH-T for $282-million and will partly finance the purchase by selling Gamehost’s four Alberta properties for $200-million to a U.S. real estate company focused on owning casinos.
On Monday, Edmonton-based Pure announced a $13.65-a-share takeover bid for Toronto Stock Exchange-listed Gamehost, owner of three Alberta casinos and a trio of nearby hotels. The transaction will create the province’s largest gaming company.
Pure also announced an agreement to sell four of the properties to VICI Properties Inc. VICI-N, a real estate company based in New York with a US$47-billion portfolio that includes landmark Las Vegas casinos.
The friendly offer represented a 16-per-cent premium to Gamehost’s closing price on Friday. Gamehost CEO Darcy Will, the board, executives and other shareholders who collectively own 41.3 per cent of the company have agreed to support the acquisition.
Early Monday, the price of Red Deer, Alta.-based Gamehost shares jumped 14 per cent to $13.43, just below the price of the takeover offer.
Pure is selling VICI the Deerfoot Inn & Casino in Calgary and the Great Northern Casino in Grande Prairie, along with two hotels near the Great Northern property.
Mr. Will has run Gamehost for more than two decades. In a press release, he said: “I am excited to pass on this legacy to Pure, a proven leader in the Alberta gaming industry.”
Pure already owns four Alberta casinos, two in Edmonton, one in Calgary and one in Lethbridge. In 2023, the company sold the properties to VICI for $272-million, which marked VICI’s first Canadian investment.
VICI owns more than 50 casinos, including a trio of iconic gambling destinations on the Las Vegas Strip: Caesars Palace, the MGM Grand and the Venetian Resort.
Five Nova Scotia-based First Nations own Pure though a company called Indigenous Gaming Partners Inc.: the Glooscap First Nation, Millbrook First Nation, Annapolis Valley First Nation, We’koqma’q L’nue’kati, and Paqtnkek Mi’kmaw Nation.
Pure runs the portfolio with Sonco Gaming Inc., a casino management company headquartered in Halifax.
“By taking a publicly traded company private, we are strengthening Indigenous ownership and significantly expanding Indigenous Gaming Partners’ presence in Canada’s hospitality and gaming sector,” said Michael Peters, chair of Indigenous Gaming Partners, in a press release.
Like most casino operators, Pure runs the tables, slot machines and restaurants in its facilities while leasing the properties from an outside owner.
VICI’s support for the Pure takeover is part of a strategy to expand its Canadian portfolio due in part to the strength of the domestic gaming industry, CEO chief executive officer Edward Pitoniak said in an interview.
“The Canadian gaming industry has strong growth prospects compared to the U.S. market, with greater participation and social acceptance across the country,” he said. “We’re proud to be a part of that growth with partners like Pure.”
In the U.S. market, VICI also owns golf courses and the property on which many family-focused Great Wolf Resorts are developed. Mr. Pitoniak said the company is interested in expanding outside its casino properties in Canada.
Prior to taking the helm at VICI in 2017, Mr. Pitoniak served as CEO of Canadian Hotel Income Properties Real Estate Investment Trust, known as CHIP REIT, and as a senior executive at Intrawest Corp., founded in Vancouver and former owner of some of the country’s top ski resorts.
Pure’s acquisition of Gamehost is expected to close by mid-2026, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.
Gamehost agreed to pay Pure a $12-million termination fee if the takeover fails to close under certain circumstances, including a decision by the Gamehost board to endorse a superior offer. Pure pledged to pay a reverse termination fee of $12-million if the transaction falls apart.
Gamehost’s financial advisor on the takeover is Bank of Nova Scotia and it hired law firm LINMAC LLP.