PENN Entertainment has issued an addendum to a fact sheet to “set the record straight” on what it called “false mischaracterisations” made in last week’s HG Vora 116-page investor presentation.
Earlier this month, PENN issued a fact sheet that claimed its omnichannel strategy will deliver sustainable shareholder value and accused the activist investor of making several “value-destructive suggestions” for the business.
HG Vora responded by releasing a 116-page presentation last week titled Genuine change is needed at PENN, in which it argued the board had failed shareholders, stock had underperformed and that performance could be improved.
The presentation also called on shareholders to vote on HG Vora’s gold proxy card, which would add all three candidates nominated by the investor to PENN’s board.
HG Vora said this would “send a clear message that the status quo is unacceptable and that genuine change is needed at PENN”.
HG Vora has been left frustrated after it proposed three additions to the PENN board at the upcoming AGM, only for the operator to select just two candidates to be put forward for vote.
PENN is set to hold its annual meeting on 17 June, during which members will vote to appoint Johnny Hartnett and Carlos Ruisanchez to the board. However, fellow HG Vora candidate William Clifford was left out of proceedings.
In its latest rebuttal to HG Vora, PENN has countered the claims made and alleged the presentation was full of “false claims and mischaracterisations”.
The investor said PENN tried to weaponise regulators, that CEO Jay Snowden has been paid more than all but one of his peers and that he has been selling his shares in the operator.
In its response, PENN highlighted that regulators “exercise their authority” based on statutes and regulations and not the operator’s suggestions, pointing out that in March 2024 HG Vora was fined $950,000 by the SEC for violating regulations.
The fact sheet read: “HG Vora is not fully licensed and has repeatedly ignored or violated regulatory directives and exposed us to regulatory scrutiny and reputational risk.”
PENN also said that Snowden’s pay represents 45% of his reported compensation, which puts him in the bottom quartile compared to PENN’s proxy peer group, and that the CEO has not sold any stock since 2021.
The fact sheet added: “Since 2020, PENN executives and directors have purchased over $5.7m worth of stock in the open market using their personal funds, including $2.8m purchased by Mr Snowden during his tenure at PENN, of which $1.5m was in the last nine months.”
The operator went on to state that it has the right board to succeed, saying seven of the eight directors have strategic planning/M&A experience and technology/digital expertise.
The fact sheet praised chief technology officer Aaron LaBerge, who had experience working with Disney and ESPN, while also noting that over 70 senior leaders of the interactive team have five years’ experience in the igaming sector and many of the team’s staff have prior experience working for FanDuel, Flutter, Entain, Betsson and William Hill.
A letter to PENN shareholders read: “While we attempted to reach a settlement with HG Vora in good faith, HG Vora rejected all of our proposals and insisted on imposing other conditions that violated directives from a gaming regulator and, therefore, were not demands with which we could comply.
“Notwithstanding this impasse, HG Vora was successful in achieving changes to PENN’s board composition and, following our 2025 AGM, HG Vora nominees will represent 25% of the continuing board.
“Nevertheless, last week, HG Vora issued a 116-page investor presentation full of false claims and mischaracterisations about the company. Today we issued an addendum to our fact sheet to set the record straight on these false mischaracterisations.
“Rather than operate within the well-established gaming regulatory framework, HG Vora has chosen to test boundaries and blame-shift, even concluding that we “[r]epeatedly sought to weaponise the company’s regulators.
“That same disregard is evident in HG Vora’s campaign of misstatements and insinuations about the company’s board and management team.
“We understand that claims of management enriching themselves with excessive compensation, personal use of corporate aircraft, or timely insider selling are attention-grabbing headlines; however, HG Vora’s claims are simply not based on the facts readily available in our public disclosure.
“Our board and management team are actively engaged with all shareholders and remain focused on executing on our strategy to create long-term shareholder value.”
EGR has contacted HG Vora for comment.
The post PENN claims HG Vora’s 116-page takedown full of “false mischaracterisations” first appeared on EGR Intel.
ESPN Bet operator responds by releasing an addendum to its fact sheet after activist investor published lengthy investor presentation last week demanding change
The post PENN claims HG Vora’s 116-page takedown full of “false mischaracterisations” first appeared on EGR Intel.