Three Cordish Live! Casinos To Be Acquired By GLPI For $1.8bn

Summary

• Gaming and Leisure Properties to acquire three Cordish Live! Casinos
• Gaming and Leisure Properties set to pay $1.8 billion
• Acquisition subjected to regulatory approval

A real estate investment trust (REIT) in Pennsylvania called Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has made a bid to acquire three Cordish Live! Casinos for a potential payment of $1.8 billion dollars. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. is a REIT that is linked to Penn National Gaming.

The three casinos on sale are Live! Casino Pittsburgh, Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia and Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland. As soon as the sale is completed, The Cordish Companies is expected to lease all three casinos back and continue to operate them going forward. This move does not come entirely as a surprise as Cordish Companies has expressed its desire to move away from a family run business model.

The acquisition of Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland is expected to close by the end of 2021 while the remaining two casinos in Pennsylvania are expected to close before the end of 2022. All three acquisitions will be subjected to Gaming and Leisure Properties being able to raise the necessary capital and regulatory approval.

Some of the other top casino operators in America such as Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International have also gone with a similar business model. Gaming and Leisure Properties now controls over 50 gaming properties spread across 17 different states and is the first RETI that specializes on gaming assets that is leased to casino operators.

Details Of Potential Contract

Gaming and Leisure Properties is expected to leverage qualified debt, $323 million of new partnership units and cash to close the $1.8 billion deal. A single-asset lease will be taken out on Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland and a triple net master lease on the other two properties that will run for a total of 39 years.

The contract between Gaming and Leisure Properties and Cordish is not just for the three casino properties but also includes a number of other interesting terms and conditions. The contract pushes for a binding partnership on any new casino developments that Cordish will handle in the future. There is also a clause for a financial partnership between the two companies in multiple areas of Cordish’s operating and real estate portfolios.