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NASCAR, International Speedway Corp. merger expected on Oct. 18

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400

DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - JULY 07: Alex Bowman, driver of the #88 Valvoline Patriotic Chevrolet, leads the field during a restart for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 07, 2019 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

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International Speedway Corp. announced Tuesday that it expects its merger with NASCAR to be complete by Oct. 18.

ISC, which operates 12 tracks that host NASCAR races, including Daytona International Speedway, Darlington Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, has informed NASDAQ that it has called a special meeting of shareholders on Oct. 16 to vote on approving the merger.

Once the merger is complete ISC will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. Shareholders will be paid $45 per share in cash as part of the acquisition.

The merger - valued at approximately $2 billion - will allow NASCAR to control those 12 tracks, along with Iowa Speedway, which it already owns. That could make it easier for NASCAR to move race dates from one track to another. NASCAR President Steve Phelps has stated that the schedule is among the areas the sanctioning body is looking at making changes. NASCAR’s five-year sanctioning agreement with tracks ends after next season.

With NASCAR private, it won’t have to publicly report attendance revenue and other financials as ISC had to do as a publicly traded company.

Once the merger is complete, NASCAR will join Speedway Motorsports, Inc. in going private this year. SMI operates eight tracks that host Cup races, including Charlotte Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway.

Of the tracks the Cup Series competes on, ISC and SMI collectively operate all but three: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Dover International Speedway and Pocono Raceway.

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