Penn Entertainment management has hit back at “false claims” made by activist investor HG Vora Capital Management. Shareholders received a letter on Tuesday claiming that HG Vora’s 116-page presentation distributed last week mischaracterized the company’s strategy and governance.
said that HG Vora was willing to disregard compliance rules in the gaming industry
Penn wanted to “set the record straight” and said that HG Vora was willing to disregard compliance rules in the gaming industry to try to take over control of the firm. The letter emphasized how the gaming licenses it holds are the most valuable assets and that this reputation was built over three decades.
Another big grievance of the activist investor was executive compensation, use of a corporate jet, and insider stock selling. Penn pointed out that CEO Jay Snowden’s take-home pay is “in the bottom quartile” relative to a proxy peer group and highlighted that he has sold no shares since 2021.
Finally, Penn accused HG Vora of excluding key parts of its strategic plan and said it pushed to hold up digital operations despite this segment getting close to profitability.
Penn Entertainment’s share price has languished over the past few years, dropping from over $120 in January 2021 to around the $15 mark currently. The company’s annual general meeting takes place on June 17 and two HG Vora nominees are set to be appointed to the board.
