It was announced over the course of the holiday season that Ontario gaming operator Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited will be combining with Leisure Acquisition Corp. in a transaction valued at roughly $1.5 billion. It was also announced that there will be a new CEO at Gateway once the deal goes firm.

Gateway announced that, shortly after the deal goes firm, Marc J. Falcone will become president and CEO of Gateway. Upon Falcone's appointment becoming effective, Tony Santo, Gateway's current CEO, will retire from the company. Santo will continue as an advisor to the board of directors and Falcone for three months following his retirement in order to assist with an orderly transition.

GTWY Holdings Limited (the holding company for Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited, which is currently majority-owned by The Catalyst Capital Group Inc.) and Leisure Acquisition Corp. (a special purpose acquisition company) jointly announced on December 27, 2019 that ‘Gateway’ and ‘Leisure’ have entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination whereby Leisure will merge into a wholly-owned subsidiary of GTWY in a transaction with a pro forma enterprise valuation of approximately $1.463 billion.

To learn more about the specifics of the deal, including comments from the organizations, click here.

(With files from Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited)