Youbet.com Acquired

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Churchill Downs Inc. late Tuesday said that it completed its merger with Burbank online horse wagering service Youbet.com Inc.

The Louisville, Ky. horse racetrack owner is paying Youbet shareholders 0.0591 of a share of new Churchill Downs stock and 99 cents in cash for each Youbet share, which closed up 6 percent Wednesday to $2.48 and jumped to $2.91 in after-market trading.

Churchill Downs is issuing around 2.7 million shares and paying nearly $45.3 million in cash to the Youbet.com shareholders to complete the acquisition. After the shares are issued, it will have 16.48 million shares outstanding. Churchhill Downs shares closed up 2.5 percent to $32.85 on Wednesday.

Rohit Thukral, executive vice president of technology initiatives and president of Churchill Downs’ own betting site, TwinSpires.com, will lead the integration of Youbet into TwinSpires, the company said.

“We are happy to now be able to move forward and continue the development of new technology-enabled features and services that … can attract new customers to racing,” said Churchill Downs Chief Executive Robert L. Evans in a statement.

Youbet Executive Chairman Michael Brodsky was appointed a Class III director of Churhill Downs to serve until the 2011 annual meeting. He also will serve on the board’s executive committee and strategic planning committee.

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