Published on 12 Nov 2021 on Market Watch

Wynn Resorts terminates merger with SPAC that would have taken sub Wynn Interactive public

Wynn Resorts Ltd. said Friday that with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Austerlitz Acquisition Corp. I which would have taken subsidiary Wynn Interactive Ltd. public, has been terminated effective immediately. Wynn's stock was little changed in premarket trading while Austerlitz shares fell 1.8%. "As we discussed on the Wynn Resorts, Limited third quarter earnings conference call earlier this week, in light of elevated marketing and promotional spend in the sports betting industry, we are pivoting our user acquisition efforts to a more targeted [return on investment]-focused strategy," said Wynn Interactive Chief Executive Craig Billings. "In so doing, we expect the capital intensity of the business to decline meaningfully beginning in the first quarter of 2022. WynnBET's best days lie ahead of us." The merger with Austerlitz was originally announced on May 10, with the enterprise value of the combined company estimated at $3.2 billion. Since then, Wynn's stock dropped 24.9% through Thursday while the S&P 500 has rallied 11.0%.