Speedway Motorsports exits Wall Street in $800 million merger

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Speedway Motorsports Inc. and Sonic Financial Corp. are nearing the finish line in an $800 million merger that will make the track operator a private company this week. On Tuesday, publicly held Speedway Motorsports disclosed in filings that owners of 65% of the shares not controlled by Sonic and the Smith family have agreed to terms of $19.75 per share.

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Concord-based Speedway Motorsports owns eight NASCAR tracks across the country, including Charlotte Motor Speedway. The company went public in 1995. With the tender offer taking effect, Speedway Motorsports will be delisted from the stock exchange.

Company founder Bruton Smith also owns Sonic Financial and, with other family members, controls 29.4 million of Speedway Motorsports' 40.8 million shares, or 70%. The value of the tender offer is $226 million for 11.4 million outstanding shares. According to the filing, 7.4 million of those shares, or 65%, have been tendered. The rest will be acquired at the same price of $19.75 per share.

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