Lancadia Holdings II, the Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company that is in the process of acquiring Golden Nugget Online Gaming (GNOG) has been granted regulatory approval for the deal in New Jersey.
The New Jersey Casino Control Commission issued an online casino license to GNOG at the meeting, meaning it is approved as a separate entity to the land-based casino business.
This takes the business one step closer to completing its deal for the business, with shares in the combined entity to trade on the stock exchange.
First announced in June this year, GNOG’s combination with Landcadia II values the business at $745m, and once completed, will see it become one of the first online gaming businesses listed on the Nasdaq.
Lancadia II was established by Tilman Fertitta, owner and chief executive of the Landry’s restaurant chain and entertainment business that owns the Golden Nugget casinos, and investment bank Jeffries.
Fertitta will serve as the co-chair and CEO of the new entity created through the merger, with Thomas Winter remaining as GNOG president.
The deal is now awaiting the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of its definitive proxy statement, after which this will be mailed to shareholders ahead of a vote to approve the transaction, Lancadia II’s general counsel Steven Scheinthal said.
The business hoped this would happen “in the near future”, he added.
“We are appreciative of the efforts of both the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement and the Casino Control Commission in approving our transaction,” Landcadia II co-chair and CEO Fertitta said.
When GNOG published its results for the third quarter of the year – in which net revenue grew 91.9% year-on-year – it said the combination was expected to complete by the end of November.
The business has been ramping up efforts to expand into new state markets in recent weeks, agreeing access deals with The Greenbrier in West Virginia, and Danville Development – which is to construct a new Golden Nugget casino – in Illinois.
This follows an agreement with Michigan’s Ojibwa Casino, struck in July, while the business is also applying for licenses in Pennsylvania.