Last week, Genting Malaysia announced that it had injected another $150 million of equity into Empire Resorts, which owns and operates Resorts World Catskills and Monticello Raceway, both in Sullivan County, New York.
Forbes magazine reported that the company, controlled by billionaire Lim Kok Thay, will use the funds to repay Empire’s existing debts of about $365 million amid signs of recovery in the U.S. gaming industry. In response, Fitch upgraded its credit rating for Empire by one level to B+ and raised the outlook for company to stable from negative.
“The proposed equity injection will also allow Genting Malaysia to reinforce its position and grow its market presence in the New York State gaming market by leveraging synergies between Resorts World New York and Resorts World Catskills,” Genting Malaysia said. “There will also be joint marketing initiatives with Genting’s Resorts World Las Vegas integrated resort that recently opened in June.”
Like other U.S. casinos, Resorts World Catskills was hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, with the $1.2 billion casino and entertainment complex closing for five months in 2020. Business has improved since its reopening in September 2020, with Empire reporting a positive EDITDA of $3.5 million in the second quarter of this year, Genting said. “Resorts World Catskills experienced a strong rebound in its operational performance as pandemic-related restrictions were progressively eased and fully lifted by June 2021 in the New York State,” it said.
“While the international travel market has shown signs of revival, the recent Covid-19 developments will continue to pose uncertainties to the outlook of tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors,” Genting Malaysia said in August as it announced its first-half results. “The regional gaming market is expected to remain challenging in the short-term.”
Genting owns also owns casino resorts in Malaysia, Singapore and the U.K. Lim has a net worth of $2.55 billion and was ranked No. 11 on the list of Malaysia’s 50 Richest in June.
According to MSN, Genting injected the funds via a subscription agreement to subscribe up to US$150 million of additional Series L. Genting injected $40 million in capital into the resorts in March 2020, at the start of the pandemic, and added $150 million in September 2020 and $20 million in March 2021.
