Boyd sells Florida jai alai facility for $65.5 million
Boyd Gaming Corp. agreed to sell its south Florida jai alai facility Thursday for $65.5 million in an all-cash deal with Dania Entertainment, but the company hasn’t given up on owning and operating a casino in the regional market.
Boyd had designs on building a casino complex at the Dania Jai Alai facility in Dania Beach, Fla., when it acquired the site in 2007.
Florida has been a focal point for casino expansion in the past few years. However, opposition by the Seminole Indian Tribe, the Walt Disney Co. and conservative religious interests has scuttled casino plans for south Florida, including the Miami area.
Boyd had an agreement in 2011 to sell the jai alai facility, which is near Fort Lauderdale, for $80 million to Dania Entertainment. But the group failed to close the deal by a late November deadline.
Dania Entertainment filed a lawsuit after the deal collapsed but agreed to dismiss the case when the new transaction was reached.
A $7 million deposit previously paid by Dania Entertainment to Boyd Gaming in 2011 will be applied to the new purchase price.
The transaction is expected to close in May. Boyd Gaming said it would use the proceeds from the sale for general corporate purposes, including repayment of debt.
“While the purchase price is lower than the original, terminated agreement, we still view this transaction as a slight positive for Boyd,” RBC Capital Markets gaming analyst John Kempf told investors. “We view any transaction that reduces leverage at the entity as a positive.”
Boyd Gaming still has an interest in Florida, should gaming expansion come to fruition.
Last year, Boyd Gaming entered into an agreement with the owners of the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla., which is home to the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers, to build a casino adjacent to the facility if state lawmakers approve gaming expansion.
“Our company’s primary focus is on strengthening our balance sheet, and the sale of this nonstrategic asset is another significant step toward that goal,” Boyd Gaming CEO Keith Smith said in a statement.
Contact reporter Howard Stutz at
hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871.
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