Operator News
US – Churchill Downs buys Peninsula Pacific Entertainment for $2.485bn
By Phil - 23 February 2022
Churchill Downs Inc. (CHDN) has agreed to buy Peninsula Pacific Entertainment for $2.485bn, giving the company Peninsula’s assets in Virginia and New York as well as the operations of its Sioux City casino property.
The deal will include the del Lago Resort and Casino in New York, the Colonial Downs Racetrack and six Rosie’s Gaming Emporium venues across Virginia. There is also an agreement in place for Peninsula to build five additional Rosie’s venues in Virginia. It will also include the licence to build a large gaming resort in the state, called the Dumfries project and the licence to develop ONE Casino and Resort, a $565m property in Richmond.
“This unique set of assets expands our geographic footprint and provides additional scale,” said Bill Carstanjen, Chief Executive Officer of CDI. “P2E has done an exceptional job developing and managing this collection of assets, which we are very excited to acquire and plan to strategically grow in the years ahead.”
The transaction is expected to significantly expand the geographic footprint of Churchill Downs Live and historical racing entertainment venues and increases scale.
The transaction is dependent on usual and customary closing conditions, including the Company obtaining approvals from the Virginia Racing Commission, the New York State Gaming Commission, and the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2022.
The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to Churchill Downs’ free cash flow and diluted earnings per share. Churchill Downs will fund the transaction with a combination of new debt and cash on hand.
