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Speedway Motorsports, Inc. becomes privately owned

By Daniel McFadinSep 17, 2019, 11:33 AM EDT
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Speedway Motorsports, Inc. and the Sonic Financial Corp. announced Tuesday that Sonic Financial has completed its acquisition of all outstanding shares of SMI, meaning SMI will become a privately owned company with no presence on the New York Stock Exchange.

By going private, the company is no longer beholden to investors and no longer has to publicly report its finances, including how much money it brings in from admissions and the TV contract and the seating capacity of each of its tracks.

Bruton Smith and his family own and control Sonic Financial Corp. Smith is the founder and majority stakeholder in Speedway Motorsports Inc. SMI operates eight tracks that host Cup races, including Charlotte Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway.

The deal closed with each outstanding share being valued at $19.75 per share in cash. There were 11,434,595 outstanding shares, putting the deal at more than $225 million.

The deal comes as International Speedway Corp. in the process of reaching an agreement to have its outstanding shares sold to NASCAR. The France family owns both ISC and NASCAR. The NASCAR-ISC deal is expected to close this year.

Speedway Motorsports Inc. enters into merger agreement with Sonic Financial

Photo by Tim Curlee/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
By Dustin LongJul 24, 2019, 7:58 AM EDT
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Speedway Motorsports Inc. announced Wednesday morning that it has entered into a “definitive merger agreement” with Sonic Financial Corp.

Bruton Smith and his family own and control Sonic Financial Corp. Smith is the founder and majority stakeholder in Speedway Motorsports Inc. SMI operates eight tracks that host Cup races, including Charlotte Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway.

The move would take SMI private just as International Speedway Corp. is in the process of doing with its agreement to have its outstanding shares sold to NASCAR. The France family owns both ISC and NASCAR. The NASCAR-ISC deal is expected to close this year.

SMI’s deal would call for Sonic Financial to acquire all the outstanding shares of SMI common stock at a price of $19.75 per share in cash. Speedway Motorsports’ stock closed at $18.95 a share Tuesday, its highest price in the last year. SMI’s stock was at $13.94 on April 23, the day before SMI announced receiving an offer from Sonic Financial.

In a memo to employees, SMI stated that once the merger is complete: “Speedway Motorsports, Inc. will continue its focus on owning and operating first-class, modern facilities in premier geographic markets, and providing our individual and corporate fans and customers with the best entertainment experience and marketing value in the motorsports industry.”

Also in the memo to employees, SMI stated: “We have no current plans for job eliminations as a result of the proposed transaction. Rather, the proposed transaction will enable us to accelerate our long-term growth plan and transformation, and maintain our focus on providing the best entertainment experience and marketing value in the motorsports industry.”