DraftKings’ $1.6 Billion Deal for Golden Nugget Draws Lawsuit

Golden Nugget Online Gaming Inc. investors sued the company in Delaware over claims that billionaire controlling stockholder Tilman Fertitta arranged its underpriced $1.56 billion sale to DraftKings Inc. in a bid to boost profits from a separate blank-check merger involving his entertainment business.

The lawsuit seeks to probe allegations that Fertitta lowered the DraftKings deal price in exchange for side benefits—like licensing agreements with the NBA’s Houston Rockets, which he owns—that raised the value of Fertitta Entertainment Inc. before its scuttled merger with a “special purpose acquisition company.”

“The process leading up to the transaction was fatally flawed,” according to ...