Gateway Casinos & Entertainment is ‘considering a sale or other strategic options’, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The financial news and information provider claims ‘people with knowledge of the matter’ have informed Bloomberg that Gateway Casinos has hired Morgan Stanley and Macquarie Group to look for potential investors or acquirers.

Majority owned by Catalyst Capital Group – a private equity firm – Gateway Casinos previously filed for an initial public offering (IPO) back in 2018 but dropped the plan in favour of a reverse merger deal with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Leisure Acquisition.

However, Leisure Acquisition later called off the deal.

Over three years on, the Canadian operator is seeking a valuation of about US$2bn (C$2.72bn), including US$1.1bn (C$1.5bn) in debt, as per Bloomberg’s report.

Gateway owns 31 gaming properties in British Columbia, Ontario and Alberta and celebrated its 30th anniversary last year.

The firm also recently announced construction had begun on the renovation of Gateway Casinos London to expand its gaming floor to include 891 slot machines and 18 live gaming tables.

Gateway suffered a company tragedy in August, though, with the news of the passing of CEO Tony Santo.