Golden Entertainment closes in on $850 million acquisition

After the Nevada Gaming Commission unanimously approved the deal last Thursday, Golden Entertainment is closing on a $850 million deal to purchase four new land based casinos.

It’s anticipated that the acquisition of the Stratosphere Casino, Hotel & Tower, Arizona Charlie’s Decatur and Arizona Charlie’s Boulder, as well as the Aquarius Casino Resort in Laughlin, will double the revenue of Golden Entertainment and treble its overall operating cash flow.  

The deal means Golden now operates 16,000 slot machines, 114 table games and 5,162 hotel rooms across eight casino properties and almost 1,000 distributed gaming locations including the largest branded tavern portfolio in Nevada.

Golden Entertainment chairman and chief executive Blake Sartini commented: “Our new properties and existing businesses are well positioned to grow as they benefit from Nevada’s continued economic strength, particularly in the Las Vegas market.

“In addition, we have the ability to develop approximately 15 acres of excess real estate surrounding the Stratosphere, which we believe has enormous long-term potential.”

Golden financed the cash portion of the transaction and refinanced its existing credit facilities with a new $800 million 1st lien term loan and a $200 million 2nd lien term loan, as well as obtained a new $100 million senior secured revolving credit facility to support the Company’s future organic and strategic growth initiatives.

Charles Protell, chief financial officer at Golden Entertainment, added: “We believe that our expanded asset base, strong operating discipline and ability to quickly realise synergies will result in increased free cash flow, allowing us to reduce leverage as well as reinvest in our existing businesses and new growth opportunities.”

Following on from the deal, Golden Entertainment has also announced it would release its 2017 Q3 financial results after the market closes on Wednesday 8 November.