Empire Resorts shareholders approve acquisition from Genting

Shareholders of Empire Resorts have approved of its merger with Genting Malaysia, which will see Genting own 38.3 percent of the company.

Earlier this month, the Malaysian operator said it paid $9.74 per share for the stake in Empire, which operates the Resorts World Catskills property in New York State.

Genting first announced plans to buy a stake in Empire back in August, when it was planning to buy the stake from Kien Huat Realty. Later, it planned a separate offer to shareholders to take the company private. 

However, the intent to purchase a stake in the loss-making Empire saw Genting Malaysia’s shares tumble almost 12 percent at the time. 

Defending the move, Genting said the acquisition of Empire would allow the company to gain economies of scale given its Resorts World New York operations.

“RWNY, under GENM’s leadership and management, has demonstrated a successful track record in New York both in terms of development and operations. The company has carefully evaluated the investment into Empire and has deemed it a worthwhile investment based on numerous factors.”

The merger will provide economies of scale and allow both to leverage the customer bases of both New York operations to form a combined marketing approach, it added. 

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