Bally’s Corporation has completed a deal with Gaming & Leisure Properties (GLPI) for the sale and leaseback of its Bally’s Tiverton Casino & Hotel in Rhode Island and Bally’s Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Biloxi in Missouri.
Aiming to provide a boost to its balance sheet by reducing its total debt, Bally’s has completed the sale of both properties for a fee worth around $635m.
As part of the deal, both properties will be added to the corporation’s Master Lease with GLPI, which includes four other properties. Including the Tiverton and Biloxi properties, the master lease agreement between the two parties sees the operator pay an additional $48.5m per year.
Bobby Lavan, Chief Financial Officer of Bally’s, said: “We are pleased to have completed another transaction with GLPI. This marks an important step for us, ensuring Bally’s is best positioned for continued growth.”
The deal ensures significant equity release which will go towards reducing the operators overall debt, which at the end of Q3, stood at $3.3bn.
Addressing investors, Lavan hinted that Bally’s would make a move to build a healthier balance sheet, targeting a sub 5x depth EBITDA.
He said: “We have ample liquidity to fund all of our announced projects and continue to invest with care in North America interactive. Our long-term commitment is the sub 5x depth EBITDA which we expect to hit in mid-2023.”
This move continues Bally’s run of deals with GLPI after it completed the purchase of Tropicana Las Vegas from both GLPI and PENN Entertainment in a deal worth $308m.
Non-land assets of Tropicana were valued at for $148m, payable to GLPI, whilst PENN unloaded all outstanding equity interest in the firm.
Bally’s also leased the land assets underpinning Tropicana’s operations, renting the land for 50 years at a rate of $10.5m per annum.
The operator also initiated a sale and leaseback deal for the Bally’s Black Hawk, CO and Rock Island, IL properties for $150m, payable by GLPI.
The completion of this latest $635m deal comes as Bally’s is securing the necessary regulatory approvals to begin construction of its flagship Chicago property, a $1.7bn development with 39-5 of local legislators in favor of amending Planned Development No. 1426, allowing the construction to begin.
