Entertainment <\/p>\n
The New York-based investment firm HG Vora has nominated three director candidates to Penn Entertainment, accusing management of failing to help the group reach its \u201cfull potential\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n HG Vora has charged Penn\u2019s board of management with \u201creckless spending of nearly $4 billion\u201d on M&A deals and media partnerships. The group called Penn\u2019s interactive strategy an \u201cabject failure\u201d that has overpromised and not delivered in a statement released<\/a> 29 January. <\/p>\n As a result, the firm, which holds a 4.8% shareholding in Penn, has nominated William J Clifford, Johnny Hartnett and Carlos Ruisanchez to Penn\u2019s board of directors.<\/p>\n Hartnett is a former CEO of Superbet and has previously held director roles with Flutter\u2019s Paddy Power Betfair business and Sportsbet. He also held other roles within the Flutter business, including as chief development officer during its acquisition of FanDuel.<\/p>\n Clifford is a former Penn National Gaming CFO, having held that position for 12 years up to 2013. Most recently, he has acted as a senior adviser for Gaming and Leisure Properties.<\/p>\n Carlos Ruisanchez is the co-founder of the hospitality group Sorelle Capital and Sorelle Hospitality. Ruisanchez was the CFO for Pinnacle Entertainment for five years up to 2018 and the founding of Sorelle. While at Pinnacle he was involved in its 2013 acquisition of Ameristar. Penn acquired<\/a> Pinnacle in 2018 for $2.8 billion (\u00a32.3 billion\/\u20ac2.7 billion).<\/p>\n The nominees will be voted on at Penn\u2019s 2025 annual meeting, which has not yet been scheduled. Shareholders do not need to take early action on the nominees.<\/p>\n The founder and portfolio manager of HG Vora, Parag Vora, said about Penn in a statement: \u201cTo date, there have been no repercussions for the board\u2019s persistent bad judgement and disappointing shareholder returns.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe this is in part due to Penn\u2019s weak corporate governance, which disenfranchises shareholders and entrenches board members while rewarding its CEO with excessive compensation.\u201d<\/p>\n Penn\u2019s most recently reported results for its Q3 2024<\/a> saw the group post a net loss of $36.7 million. However, year-on-year this was significantly lower than its Q3 2023 loss of $724 million that was attributed to Penn\u2019s divestiture<\/a> of the Barstool brand back to its founder Dave Portnoy for $1.<\/p>\n The group posted revenue for Q3 2024 of $1.63 billion, up from $1.61 billion year-on-year.<\/p>\n In the nine months ending 30 September, Penn reported revenue of $4.9 billion, down year-on-year from $4.96bn. The group posted a net loss for the nine-month period of $178.2m, an increase from the previous period\u2019s loss of $131.9m.<\/p>\n Penn will report its full-year results on 27 February.<\/p>\n Penn entered into a $1.5 billion partnership with Disney-owned ESPN to create ESPN Bet<\/a> in 2023. ESPN Bet went live in Washington DC<\/a> in January, taking its current market access to 20 states in the US.<\/p>\n In a statement issued by Penn\u2019s board of directors, it said it was \u201ccommitted to creating long-term value for all shareholders\u201d and that it would review HG Vora\u2019s proposed director nominees, presenting its \u201cformal recommendation\u201d on the election of directors in its filings to the US Securities and Exchange Commission ahead of its 2025 annual meeting.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nHG Vora\u2019s three nominees<\/h2>\n
Penn annual meeting and financial losses<\/h2>\n