Gateway Casinos is considering a potential sale and is seeking a price tag of about US$2bn. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Looking for suitors

Gateway Casinos & Entertainment is considering a potential sale with a $2bn valuation. Bloomberg reported on Monday that sources suggest the company is looking at a range of strategic options.

Gateway seeks a valuation of about $2bn, which includes debt of $1.1bn

Gateway – one of Canada’s biggest gambling companies – hired Macquarie Group Ltd. and Morgan Stanley to find potential suitors. One of Bloomberg’s sources, who wished to remain anonymous, said that Gateway seeks a valuation of about $2bn, which includes debt of $1.1bn.

A significant operation

Gateway Casinos currently owns 31 properties across the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Ontario, and British Columbia. It has gradually grown through acquisitions and internal expansion, with the company celebrating its 30-year anniversary in 2022.

The company currently has about 7,200 employees across its various properties, offering hundreds of hotel rooms and thousands of slot machines to its patrons.

Private equity firm Catalyst Capital Group is the current majority owner of Gateway Casinos, having taken control back in 2010. The casino company previously attempted to go public with an initial public offering, as well as through a special purpose acquisition company merger. Neither of these ultimately came to fruition, with no clear reason given for why they did not proceed.

A tumultuous 2023

The news that Gateway Casinos is considering a potential sale comes a couple of months after the untimely passing of its CEO Tony Santo. He had been the company’s driving force since October 2013 and had planned to retire at the end of 2019 before the onset of the pandemic led to him continuing in the role.

from a small regional gaming company to one of the largest gaming companies in Canada.”

He helped to significantly expand the company, including through the acquisition of numerous properties from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, as well as Playtime Gaming. Remarking on his contribution to the company, Gateway Casinos President Tolek Strukoff said Santo “grew Gateway from a small regional gaming company to one of the largest gaming companies in Canada.”

Another bit of adversity that the company had to deal with so far this year was in April when it was subject to a ransomware cyberattack. This led to many of its Ontario properties having to temporarily close for two weeks until it resolved the issue. The personal data of employees was reportedly leaked as a result of this breach.