Analyst Sees $40-Plus Per Share For Pinnacle Entertainment Inc.'s Real Estate

Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc.

can offer up to $45 a share for the real estate assets of Pinnacle Entertainment Inc.

an analyst said Monday. Pinnacle confirmed a week ago that it was in talks that could lead to a deal. Apart from the talks, Pinnacle plans to spin out the assets as a separately traded company, and GLPI had previously offered $36 a share in an all-stock deal in March. Susquehanna's Rachel Rothman said Monday there's a 60 percent likelihood that GLPI will obtain the assets for "just above $40 a share." Rothman, who maintained a Neutral rating on GLPI and $43 target, said GLPI can pay up to $45 without diluting its earnings. Pinnacle last week characterized its recent contact with GLPI as "productive discussions" but didn't mention a prospective price for the assets, which consist of 15 casinos in eight states. Pinnacle in November said it would spin-out the assets to shareholders as a publicly traded real estate investment trust in a transaction it expected to complete in 2016. GLPI has functioned since 2013 as a real estate investment trust and holds the former assets of Penn National Gaming Inc.

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