Private equity firm to make offer for shuttered AC casino
A New York based private equity firm is preparing an offer to buy a shuttered casino in Atlantic City, according to reports in The Press of Atlantic City.
The as of yet unnamed firm are reportedly prepared to pay $220m for the 6 million-sqft Revel casino, which has been closed since 2014.
Alex Fredericks, Operations Director at Digital Launch, a New York firm representing the unnamed bidder told local media sources that the tender offer to purchase the casino was lodged within the past ten days.
The Revel casino resort first launched back in 2012, but was forced to close in 2014 after several periods of unprofitability. Florida real estate developer Glenn Straub purchased the site in 2015 for a total amount of $82m in bankruptcy court, which was a fraction of its original price tag of $2.4bn.
Straub has attempted on numerous occasions to reopen the shuttered casino, but the New Jersey Casino Control Commission have ruled that he must obtain the required casino licence from them before he can successfully reopen Revel (now rebranded as TEN) to customers.
An appeal has been lodged against this ruling with Straub maintaining that he shouldn’t be required to apply for one since he’s leasing the casino area to a third-party vendor. A final decision from the New Jersey Casino Control Commission is expected soon.
In an interview with the Press of Atlantic City website he said: “If they rule in our favour, we will open the casino,” Straub said, referring to the commission’s decision. “If they rule against us, maybe we will have to look for someone else.”
Last month Atlantic City’s Mayor Don Guardian revealed that several investors have expressed an interest in purchasing the casino property from Straub, however Straub claims that he is unaware of any offers for the property.
There is widespread support for a potential sale of the Revel casino property, with authorities becoming frustrated at Straub’s failure to reopen the casino, but he has no current plans to sell.
Referring to the unnamed $220m offer, Straub revealed that he has never talked to any equity firms regarding a sale, saying: “I don’t know any private equity firms,”
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