Z Capital Group has agreed to merge two of its portfolio companies, Affinity Gaming and Sports Information Group LLC, to create a new entity valued at about $1.3 billion, including debt, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The transaction combines Las Vegas-based Affinity Gaming, which operates eight regional casinos in Nevada, Missouri and Iowa, with SIG, the owner of horse-racing data and media platform Daily Racing Form, which also specializes in online betting.
The new entity, called Affinity Interactive, will have a combined customer base of almost 1 million across the U.S., said the people, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public. A transaction could be announced as soon as this week, they said.
Z Capital’s founder and Chief Executive Officer Jim Zenni will become chairman of Affinity Interactive, while Itay Fisher, CEO of SIG, and Mary Beth Higgins, head of Affinity Gaming, will maintain their leadership roles at the units, the people said.
Affinity Gaming was a sponsor of Las Vegas-based Gaming & Hospitality Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company that raised $200 million in an initial public offering in February. The blank-check firm previously said it planned to merge with Affinity Gaming as well as an entity that it hadn’t yet identified. The SPAC is slated to now merge with Affinity Interactive, in addition to a separate target, the people said.
Representatives for Z Capital, Affinity and SIG declined to comment.
Affinity Gaming in April raised $70 million in new debt, following the issue of $475 million in senior secured first lien loans in December. Z Capital acquired New York-based Sports Information Group in 2017 for less than $100 million from lenders after a restructuring process.
