Century Casinos (CNTY on the NYSE) has announced the acquisition of Nugget Casino in Sparks, Nevada from Marnell Gaming. The purchase price was $195 million.
The price included half of the real estate the casino sits on for $95 million from Smooth Bourbon LLC, with a five year option to purchase the balance for $105 million. Century will lease the land for $15 million per year.
The purchase is pending regulatory approval.
The announcement caused the immediate jump of CNTY stock by more than 12 percent.
Once the purchase is complete, Century will have a total of 10 casinos, with 6,700 slot machines and 240 gaming tables. The Nugget accounts for 859 slots and 29 tables.
Century Casinos co-CEOs Erwin Haitzmann and Peter Hoetzinger said in a statement: “We believe there is a lot of upside to this transaction and that we identified some areas of improvement to continue the Nugget’s growth.” They continued, “We expect the Nugget to seamlessly integrate and provide added synergies for Century Casinos’ US portfolio.”
They added, “We have been looking at entering the Reno market for a long time, and we believe the Nugget is a perfect fit for our portfolio.”
They said they expect to purchase to increase Century Casinos’ free cash flow and earnings.
