LAS VEGAS — Golden Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: GDEN) has agreed to acquire American Casino & Entertainment Properties LLC, which owns four gaming and entertainment properties in Nevada, for $850 million.
American Casino & Entertainment’s portfolio features 3,879 slot machines, 89 table games and 4,895 hotel rooms in Las Vegas and Laughlin, Nevada. Properties include:
- The Stratosphere Casino, Hotel & Tower, featuring an 80,000-square-foot casino, 2,427 guestrooms and suites, 13 restaurants, nine bars, two pools, entertainment venues and a 1,149-foot observation tower located on the North Las Vegas Strip.
- Arizona Charlie’s Hotel & Casino – Decatur, located just off the Las Vegas Strip, which features 1,060 slot machines, seven table games and 259 hotel rooms.
- Arizona Charlie’s Hotel & Casino – Boulder, located on Boulder Highway in Las Vegas, which features 849 slot machines, seven table games and 303 hotel rooms.
- The Aquarius Casino Resort, located on the banks of the Colorado River in Laughlin, Nev. The property features a 57,000-square-foot casino, eight restaurants, three bars, 1,906 guestrooms and suites and an entertainment pavilion.
The purchase consideration consists of $781 million cash plus approximately four million shares of Golden Entertainment stock issued to American Casino & Entertainment’s current owner, Whitehall Street Real Estate Partners 2007. Upon closing, Whitehall will own approximately 15 percent of Golden’s diluted shares outstanding.
Golden Entertainment has received committed financing totaling $1.1 billion from JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., Credit Suisse, Macquarie Capital and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC to fund the cash consideration, as well as to refinance the company’s existing credit facilities. The financing commitment includes a $100 million revolving credit facility to support the company’s future growth initiatives.
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Credit Suisse, Macquarie Capital and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC are acting as co-financial advisors and Latham & Watkins LLP is acting as legal counsel to Golden Entertainment. Macquarie Capital has also provided a Fairness Opinion to Golden’s board of directors in connection with the transaction.
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is acting as financial advisor to American Casino & Entertainment, and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is acting as legal counsel.
Upon completion of the transaction, Las Vegas-based Golden Entertainment will operate over 15,800 slot machines, 114 table games and more than 5,100 hotel rooms across eight casino properties and almost 1,000 distributed gaming locations. The company’s stock price closed at $20 per share on Monday, June 13, up from $12.88 one year prior.
— Katie Sloan