Penn Entertainment will acquire the remaining shares of Barstool Sports that it does not already own, as reported by Bloomberg.
The decision will give the casino operator full control of the sports and pop-culture company. Penn has exercised call rights and will complete the purchase of the remaining Barstool shares by February 2023.
Penn agreed to buy a 36% stake in Barstool for $161.2m in 2020, and since then the group has launched sportsbooks under the Barstool brand name, explaining that the decision has helped the company reach a younger audience.
But the affiliation with Barstool has also been a controversial one, with Penn President and CEO Jay Snowden in February urging investors to be patient after Insider published articles detailing sexual misconduct claims against Barstool Sports Founder Dave Portnoy. Portnoy has denied the allegations.
The operator, which changed its name from Penn National Gaming earlier this month, reported revenue of $1.6bn for the second quarter of 2022. The figure represented a 5% increase from the prior-year period.
Speaking at the time of the results being published, Snowden said: “Over the past few years, Penn has transformed our business through a highly differentiated strategy focused on organic cross-sell opportunities, which is reinforced by our investments in retail casinos, sports media assets, owned technology, including a state-of-the-art, fully integrated digital sports and online casino betting platform, and an in-house iCasino content studio.
“Our new name maintains ties to our legacy while better reflecting our evolution into North America’s leading provider of integrated entertainment, sports content and casino gaming experiences.”
