Bowlero Corp., the world’s largest owner and operator of bowling centres, as well as owner of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), announced on 16 December that its Class A common stock and warrants will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols “BOWL” and “BOWL WS”, respectively.
Management will participate in an opening bell ceremony at the New York Stock Exchange today in celebration of the public listing, following yesterday’s completion of a business combination with Isos Acquisition Corporation.
To thank its customers, Bowlero offered one free bowling game per customer nationwide at all Bowlero Corp. centres including Bowlero, Bowlmor Lanes, AMF and Bowl America.
“We have come a long way since we acquired our first location in New York City in 1997 and turned it into a popular, and very profitable hotspot. We want to thank our associates for all of their hard work as well as our biggest advocates, our customers, because we wouldn’t have been able to do this without them,” said Tom Shannon, founder, chairman and CEO of Bowlero. “We now own and operate more than 300 bowling centers across North America and look forward to continuing to revolutionize the bowling industry as a public company.”
“I would like to thank the entire Bowlero team, as well as our partners at Isos, for their support and dedication throughout this process,” said Brett Parker, President and CFO of Bowlero. “We look forward to building upon our success in revolutionizing the bowling industry as a public company as we expand Bowlero’s footprint, continue our development of the PBA, and pursue opportunities around gamification and sports betting.”
Bowlero Corp. outperformed expectations for the quarter ended September 26, 2021, the first quarter of its 2022 fiscal year, while dramatically outpacing pre-pandemic performance. The Company went on to announce record leisure revenue and four new bowling centres in the nine weeks ended November 28, 2021, with total bowling centre revenue up 20.3% to $134 million versus pre-pandemic levels in the corresponding period of calendar year 2019.
“We are excited to be part of Bowlero’s very impressive success story,” said Isos co-Founders and co-CEOs Michelle Wilson and George Barrios. “Bowlero’s robust growth and financial track record are a testament to the superior bowling experience that Bowlero offers customers and the highly integrated business that Tom and Brett have built. We look forward to our continued partnership with the Bowlero team as Board members, where we will leverage our combined experience to drive long-term shareholder value.”
Bowling is the largest participatory sport in the U.S. with approximately 70 million people bowling each year. More than 26 million guests bowl on Bowlero’s more than 12,000 bowling lanes each year.