Dover Motorsports sale to Speedway now final

By Logan B. Anderson
Posted 12/22/21

DOVER — The owners of the Dover International Speedway announced on Wednesday the finalization of the company’s sale to North Carolina-based Speedway Motorsports LLC.

Speedway …

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Dover Motorsports sale to Speedway now final

Posted

DOVER — The owners of the Dover International Speedway announced on Wednesday the finalization of the company’s sale to North Carolina-based Speedway Motorsports LLC.

Speedway successfully completed the purchase, which was initially announced in early November, by buying all outstanding shares of Dover Motorsports Inc.

Each shareholder received $3.61 per share in cash, without interest and minus applicable withholding taxes.

The purchase was made through Speedway’s wholly owned subsidiary Speedco II Inc., and was valued at about $131. 5 million.

Speedway plans to merge Speedco II into Dover Motorsports in accordance with Section 251(h) of the General Corporation Law of the state of Delaware, company officials said in a press statement released on Wednesday.

The tender offer was made on Nov. 8 and expired on Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. Once the offer expired, the deal was able to commence. At midnight on Wednesday, Speedway was informed that about 32 million shares of Dover Motorsports had been validly tendered, including about 18 million shares of class A common stock, representing approximately 90.5% of Dover Motorsport’s outstanding shares.

Dover Motorsports is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Speedway Motorsports.

“On behalf of our company I’d like to thank Denis McGlynn and Dover Motorsports for their cooperation and support through this process,” said Speedway Motorsports President and Chief Executive Officer Marcus Smith in statement. “As our acquisition becomes complete, we look forward to turning our focus toward engaging the teams at Dover and Nashville to produce exciting events for race fans in 2022.”

Many in the state and the region are watching the acquisition and hoping that there will be more activity at the racetrack.

Kent County Levy Court Commissioner Eric L. Buckson, whose father, Dave Buckson, helped build Dover International Speedway, is optimistic for the future.

“Time has a way of moving on. It is certainly sentimental personally for our family, but also for the state and the city of Dover,” he said. “There is a sense of pride that the city and state have to be able to say that they host a major sporting event, NASCAR.”

Commissioner Buckson hopes the new owners of Dover Motorsports use the racetrack to its full potential.

“The input my father had in it was that it was always going to be a multi-use facility. That’s why it was designed to fit a horse track inside of it. In fact, in the original plans … the New England Patriots were supposed to do their preseason training in the middle of the infield.”

It has been estimated that each NASCAR weekend produces more than $60 million in economic impacts in central Delaware, according to a 2019 report by the Delaware Department of Transportation.

“We are thrilled that they are still going to be here and still are going to be providing great NASCAR racing excitement here in central Delaware,” said Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce President Judy Diogo. “Those races have always put us on the map, and we are thrilled that they will be continuing.”

Dover Motorsports owns and operates Dover International Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway in Tennessee. The tracks are the largest concrete-only venues hosting NASCAR events. Both facilities will host a NASCAR Cup Series race weekend on the 2022 schedule.

Dover International Speedway nicknamed “The Monster Mile,” is a one-mile oval that opened in 1969. In 2022, the track will host a NASCAR tripleheader weekend April 29 to May 1 featuring ARCA Menards Series East, NASCAR Xfinity and NASCAR Cup Series races.

The speedway also annually hosts the Firefly Music Festival produced by AEG Presents with more than 100 acts performing over three days. The Nashville Superspeedway, located approximately 30 miles southeast of Nashville, opened in 2001 as a 1.33-mile D-shaped oval. The track will host a NASCAR tripleheader weekend June 24 to 26, featuring NASCAR Camping World, Xfinity and Cup Series races.

Speedway Motorsports already owns Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Sonoma Raceway and Texas Motor Speedway.

The purchase of Dover Motorsports is unrelated to the recent rebranding of Dover Downs Casino to Bally’s Dover Casino Resort.

The casino and hotel and the racing facilities were split into two companies in the early 2000s. The racing venture stayed independent and became Dover Motorsports. The gaming and hospitality firm is what Bally’s Corp. now owns.

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