NASCAR to buy International Speedway for $2 billion

NASCAR Holdings agreed to buy racetrack owner and operator International Speedway Corp. for around $2 billion in cash, or $45 per share.

Why it matters: This deal could be the impetus for streamlining at the auto racing giant, which publicly acknowledged that its 38-race schedule is bloated. NASCAR now could reduce its overall number of races, but pour more resources into events at major tracks it would now control, including those in Daytona and Talladega.

• The bottom line: This deal has been bedeviled by allegations of self-dealing, as the France family effectively controls both companies. But an institutional ISCA shareholder that filed a class-action lawsuit back in December now says it won't challenge the new deal price.

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