Property divesting related to the ongoing merger between Eldorado Resorts and Caesars Entertainment continues, as the Reno-based operator announced Friday it entered into a definitive agreement with Twin River Holdings.
New Acquisition in Nevada and Louisiana
Eldorado agreed to sell the Eldorado Shreveport Resort and Casino in Shreveport, Louisiana, and the MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa in Lake Tahoe, Nevada to the based in Rhode Island company Twin River Holdings, for $155 million, subject to a working capital adjustment.
Due to the newly reached deal with Twin River, which is conditioned upon completion of the Caesars merger and pending on regulatory approvals, Eldorado terminated its previous agreement for the sale of the properties with Maverick Gaming and retuned its deposits. The new deal is expected to close in Q1 2021.
“The agreement to divest Shreveport and MontBleu to Twin River Worldwide Holdings is consistent with our continued focus on closing the Caesars transaction in the first half of 2020.”
Tom Reeg, CEO, Eldorado Resorts
New Jersey Entry
For the acquiring company, Lincoln-based Twin River Holdings, the two casinos from Eldorado were not the only acquisitions. Twin River entered into a separate deal with Caesars Entertainment and VICI Properties for the purchase of Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel & Casino for $25 million in cash, the price subject to post-closing customary adjustments.
Regarding the real estate investment trust that was spun off Caesars Entertainment back in 2017, VICI Properties, the sale of Bally’s Atlantic City means VICI will receive approximately $19 million from the sale, with the remaining approximately $6 million for Caesars, but the annual base rent payments under the master lease agreement with Caesars will remain unchanged.
The acquisition of the gaming and hospitality venue in Atlantic City, the gaming hub of New Jersey, is also dependent on the Eldorado tie-up with Caesars completion, as well as approval from the Federal Trade Commission. As part of the Caesars deal that will complete either by end of 2020 or in Q1 2021, Twin River will acquire the license to build out a sports book and launch online sports betting and iGaming.
“These acquisitions represent a unique opportunity to continue executing on our expansion and diversification strategy at attractive valuation multiples…”
George Papanier, President and CEO, Twin River
Through these acquisitions of properties in Nevada, Louisiana and New Jersey, Twin River expands its operations into 3 new states, enlarging its presence into 8 states in total.
Twin River also said it entered into an amended agreement with Mont Bleu’s property landlord, extending the lease agreement for the facility throughout 2035 as part of the amendments.
The $17.3 billion merger between Eldorado and Caesars, upon the completion of which depend the completions of the new deals with Twin River, is continuing almost as planned, despite casinos closure.