Colony Downs | courtesy of Colonial Downs
Churchill Downs, Inc. is preparing to acquire Colonial Downs, as well as a number of historic horse racing facilities in the state, after the company announced it had entered into an agreement to purchase the property of Virginia racecourse owner, Peninsula Pacific Entertainment LLC. A statement Tuesday morning from CDI put the value of the deal at $2.485 billion.
“This unique set of assets expands our geographic reach and provides additional scale,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of CDI. “P2E has done an exceptional job in developing and managing this collection of assets, which we are delighted to acquire and plan to grow strategically over the coming years.”
In addition to Colonial Downs, P2E’s assets include six historic 2,700 racing machine storage facilities across Virginia. Under state law, CDI will have the opportunity to develop up to five more historic racing entertainment venues in Virginia for a total of approximately 2,300 additional HRMs.
As part of the P2E Transaction, CDI will also have the rights to build a large gaming resort (“Project Dumfries”), with up to 1,800 HRM in Northern Virginia. It will also have the rights to develop Rosie’s Gaming Emporium in Emporia, the seventh historic racing entertainment venue under the Colonial Downs license by P2E. The Emporia campus, located along I-95 near the North Carolina border, will have 150 HRMs and is scheduled to open in 2023.
Also included in the deal are the del Lago Resort & Casino in Waterloo, New York, and the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Sioux City, Iowa.
Under its terms, P2E is expected to reach a definitive agreement to sell Hard Rock Sioux City-related real estate to a third party. CDI will acquire the operating and leasing company of the Sioux City Property from that third party. Following closure, CDI will operate the Hard Rock Sioux City and lease the Sioux City Property on lease terms negotiated prior to the closure. In the event that the P2E is unsuccessful in reaching a definitive agreement with a third party to purchase Sioux City Property by a certain date, the Sioux City Property will be included in the P2E transaction and total consideration. will increase to 2.75 billion USD.
Trading is subject to normal and customary closing conditions, including the Company’s receipt of approval from the Virginia Racing Commission, the New York State Gaming Commission and the Iowa Racing and Games Commission . The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2022.
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This story was posted in Top News and tagged Bill Carstanjen, Churchill Downs Incorporated, Colony Downs, Resort & Casino del Lago, Project Dumfries, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Peninsula Pacific Entertainment.
