Shareholders' Equity

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2017

Equity [Abstract]

Shareholders' Equity

Shareholders' Equity

Common Stock

During August 2016, the Company commenced a continuous equity offering under which the Company may sell up to an aggregate of $400 million of its common stock from time to time through a sales agent in “at the market” offerings (the “ATM Program”). Actual sales will depend on a variety of factors, including market conditions, the trading price of the Company's common stock and determinations of the appropriate sources of funding for proposed transactions. The Company may sell the shares in amounts and at times to be determined by the Company, but has no obligation to sell any of the shares in the ATM Program. The ATM Program also allows the Company to enter into forward sale agreements. In no event will the aggregate number of shares sold under the ATM Program (whether under any forward sale agreement or through a sales agent), have an aggregate sales price in excess of $400 million. The Company expects, that if it enters into a forward sale contract, to physically settle each forward sale agreement with the forward purchaser on one or more dates specified by the Company prior to the maturity date of that particular forward sale agreement, in which case the aggregate net cash proceeds at settlement will equal the number of shares underlying the particular forward sale agreement multiplied by the relevant forward sale price. However, the Company may also elect to cash settle or net share settle a particular forward sale agreement, in which case proceeds may or may not be received or cash may be owed to the forward purchaser.

In connection with the ATM Program, the Company engaged a sales agent who may receive compensation of up to 2% of the gross sales price of the shares sold. Similarly, in the event the Company enters into a forward sale agreement, it will pay the relevant forward seller a commission of up to 2% of the sales price of all borrowed shares of common stock sold during the applicable selling period of the forward sale agreement.

During the three months ended June 30, 2017, GLPI sold 3,864,872 shares of its common stock at an average price of $36.22 per share under the ATM Program, which generated gross proceeds of approximately $140.0 million (net proceeds of approximately $139.4 million). Program to date, the Company has sold 5,186,871 shares of its common stock at an average price of $35.91 per share under the ATM Program and generated gross proceeds of approximately $186.3 million (net proceeds of approximately $185.0 million). The Company used the net proceeds from the ATM Program to partially fund its acquisition of the Meadows' and Tunica real estate assets. As of June 30, 2017, the Company had $213.7 million remaining for issuance under the ATM Program and had not entered into any forward sale agreements.

Dividends

The following table lists the dividends declared and paid by the Company during the six months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016:

Declaration Date	Shareholder Record Date	Securities Class	Dividend Per Share		Period Covered	Distribution Date	Dividend Amount
							(in thousands)
2017
February 1, 2017	March 13, 2017	Common Stock	$	0.62	First Quarter 2017	March 24, 2017	$	129,007
April 25, 2017	June 16, 2017	Common Stock	$	0.62	Second Quarter 2017	June 30, 2017	$	131,554
2016
January 29, 2016	February 22, 2016	Common Stock	$	0.56	First Quarter 2016	March 25, 2016	$	65,345
April 25, 2016	June 2, 2016	Common Stock	$	0.56	Second Quarter 2016	June 17, 2016	$	113,212

In addition, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, dividend payments were made to GLPI restricted stock award holders in the amount of $0.2 million and $0.5 million, respectively, as compared to $0.3 million and $0.6 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016, respectively.