MACQUARIE Bank and Publishing and Broadcasting Limited have made a $C800 million bid for Canada's largest casino operator, the Gateway Casinos Income Fund.
The acquisition will be made by New World Gaming, a new joint entity between Macquarie Bank and PBL.
Under the terms of the agreement, New World Gaming will offer to acquire all of the outstanding units of the fund by way of a take-over bid at a price of $C25.26 per unit in cash – a premium of 25.7% based on the $C20.10 closing price for the fund units on the Toronto Stock Exchange on April 2, 2007 and a 37.8 % premium to the 90-day volume-weighted average unit price.
In addition, New World Gaming will make a concurrent take-over bid for the fund’s 5.35% convertible debentures at a price of $C1,322.51 per C$1,000 principal amount of debentures, bringing the entire transaction total to $C886 million.
Gateway’s main unitholders, including certain of Gateway’s trustees and senior officers, holding approximately 31.4% of the fund’s fully diluted units, have agreed to support the offer and tender their units to the bid.
Gateway Casino’s chief executive Dave Gadhia said the deal presents an opportunity to capitalize on the strong current interest in the North American gaming market.
“We see Gateway as a great opportunity in the North American gaming sector. The company has an established track record of offering its customers a high quality gaming and entertainment experience across its nine casinos in
The transaction is also subject to regulatory approvals, including from the BC Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation, and the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission as well as receipt of certain third party consents.
New World Gaming has also entered in a separate transaction to acquire substantially all of the assets of Gateway Casinos Inc, which operates the Baccarat Casino in Edmonton, Alberta, and all of the outstanding shares of Star of Fortune Gaming Management Corp, which operates the Royal City Star Casino and is developing the Starlight Casino, both in Greater Vancouver, B.C. GCI and SOF are privately held companies whose operations are managed by Gateway.
Australian Property Journal
