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Apollo Global Management Inc. has won over large shareholders of Great Canadian Gaming Corp. by raising its friendly takeover bid by 15 per cent to $2.48-billion, ending weeks of investor complaints that the initial offer failed to account for the company’s postpandemic prospects.

New York-based Apollo said on Monday that its sweetened offer for Great Canadian won the support of shareholders with 50 per cent of the stock, vastly increasing the likelihood of proceeding. Apollo’s previous bid for the operator of casinos in British Columbia, Ontario and Atlantic Canada was worth $2.1-billion.

The major private-equity company is now offering $45 a share for Great Canadian, up from $39. Investors are slated to vote on the offer on Wednesday.

The higher offer comes amid questions about the financial health of Toronto-based Great Canadian, whose facilities have been closed since March when governments imposed restrictions on large gatherings to combat the spread of COVID-19. Great Canadian has also warned that costs associated with renovating such facilities as Casino Woodbine and Pickering Casino, requirements of its leases from the Ontario government, could rise faster than potential revenues.

Before Apollo launched the bid on Nov. 10, Great Canadian shares had tumbled by a third since the start of the year.

Despite that, some large shareholders had been vocal that the previous offer was an attempt to take Great Canadian private on the cheap before public-health orders are lifted.

Shares in Great Canadian jumped 17 per cent to $43.51 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Monday. They had slumped in recent weeks as the initial offer looked to be on shaky ground amid the opposition from key investors.

“We are grateful for the strong shareholder support received in favour of the transaction,” Apollo partner Alex van Hoek said in a statement. “Based on Apollo’s considerable experience in the gaming space, we see significant opportunity for Great Canadian to grow the business and bring an enhanced experience to guests as a privately held company with a longer-term view of success.”

Great Canadian’s board has endorsed the higher bid, which comes five days after major shareholder CI Global Asset Management had said it would join several other investors in rejecting the initial offer – essentially putting it on life support. CI, along with BloombergSen, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd., Madison Avenue Partners LP and others, will back the new offer, Apollo said.

“The increased purchase price of $45 per share unlocks greater value for shareholders, and the company and board appreciate the support of some of Great Canadian’s largest institutional shareholders for this transaction,” Great Canadian chairman Peter Meredith said in the statement.

Apollo, which has US$433-billion in private equity, credit and real estate assets under management, has said its experience with other companies it owns in the gambling and hospitality sectors will be beneficial in bringing Great Canadian’s operations back to life after restrictions are lifted. Its other investments include GameNet, PlayAGS, Diamond Resorts and ClubCorp, and it has previously owned others.

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Tickers mentioned in this story

Study and track financial data on any traded entity: click to open the full quote page. Data updated as of 28/03/24 0:32pm EDT.

SymbolName% changeLast
APO-N
Apollo Asset Management Inc
-0.5%113.01

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