Twin River Worldwide Holdings is to expand its land-based presence into Illinois after agreeing to acquire Delaware North’s Jumer’s Casino & Hotel in Rock Island.
Under the deal, Twin River will pay $120.0m to purchase the property, financing the acquisition with a combination of cash on hand, cash from ongoing operations and borrowings under a revolving credit facility.
Located in Quad Cities in Rock Island, Illinois, Jumer’s has a 40,000sq ft casino floor featuring more than 870 slot machines and 25 table games, as well as a 205-room hotel, an events center, sports bar, nightclub and four restaurants.
Subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, as well as a customary working capital adjustment, the transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of 2021.
Should the acquisition go through as expected, it would expand Twin River’s land-based network to 13 properties across nine states.
“This acquisition further expands our geographic reach into yet another attractive market,” Twin River’s president and chief executive, George Papanier, said. “It provides access to a growing gaming market in Illinois, with the potential to capitalize on potentially lucrative sports betting opportunities.
“We look forward to the opportunity to leverage our operational expertise and proven integration approach to drive incremental revenues and cash flow improvements.”
The agreement comes after Twin River in August saw revenue for the first half of 2020 fall by 47.7% year-on-year, primarily due to the disruption caused by novel coronavirus (Covid-19).
Revenue for the six months to June 30 totalled $138.1m, which was down from $263.8m in the prior year, while net loss came to $23.6m, compared to a profit of 17.2m in Q2 of last year.
The deal also comes at a transformative time for the US land-based market, with Eldorado Resorts in July completing its acquisition of Caesars Entertainment Corporation.
The reverse merger was only possible after the two operators agreed to sell a number of their casino properties, in order to satisfy concerns over competition in certain states.
This included the sales of both the Eldorado Shreveport Resort and Casino in Louisiana and the Mont Bleu Casino Resort & Spa in Lake Tahoe, Nevada to Twin River for $155m. Twin River also agreed to acquire Caesars’ Bally Atlantic City through the same agreement, for $25m.
In addition, Twin River acquired Eldorado Resorts’ Isle of Capri Casino in Kansas City, Missouri, as well as the Lady Luck Casino in Vicksburg, Mississippi, for a combined price of $230m.