Empire City Casino Explores Partnership or Sale
15 November 2017 - 11:29PM
Dow Jones News
By Dana Mattioli
New York's Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway is exploring
strategic alternatives, including a possible sale or partnership,
according to people familiar with the matter.
The privately held casino company has retained investment bank
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. for the review, according to the
people. It is possible the company will ultimately decide to remain
in its current form, the people said. Empire City could announce
the move to review alternatives as soon as Wednesday, one of the
people said.
The company is situated on a 100-acre property in Yonkers, just
north of New York City. It was founded in 1899 as the Empire City
Trotting Club. In 1972, the Rooney family bought Empire City for
$52 million, according to a person familiar with the matter. Tim
Rooney, whose family owns the National Football League's Pittsburgh
Steelers, is the chief executive of Empire City, which the family
still owns.
In 2001, Empire City expanded beyond horse racing. Today, it has
more than 5,300 slot machines as well as electronic table games.
Empire City generates more than $600 million in gaming revenue,
according to one of the people, making it one of the larger casino
operators in the U.S. It isn't clear how much the company may be
worth, but based on the revenue multiples of other casino
operators, it could fetch more than $1 billion if it were to be
sold. Finding a partner could allow the family to make Empire City
more of a destination by adding a hotel, spa, retail or other
attractions, this person said.
Private-equity has been a big player in casino consolidation,
but there have also been recent strategic deals. Last month, for
example, The Wall Street Journal reported that Penn National Gaming
Inc. has been in merger discussions with rival casino operator
Pinnacle Entertainment Inc.
Write to Dana Mattioli at dana.mattioli@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 15, 2017 07:14 ET (12:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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