STATION CASINOS PRE-PLANNING FOR BANKRUPTCY

Posted on | February 4, 2009 | No Comments

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Several reports came out today detailing the financial troubles of Station Casinos that are now coming to a very interesting crescendo. Station Casinos is managed and partially owned by the same Fertittas who are the 90% owners of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It looks like bankruptcy is truly imminent, and the Fertitta Family is willing to put up $244 million to make the process more agreeable and help restructure some debt. Check out the following links for more information on the crisis for Station Casinos:

UPDATE 2-Station Casinos misses payment, considers bankruptcy

Station Casinos Proposes Prepackaged Bankruptcy to Cut Debt

Station Casinos seeks deal with bondholders

Station Casinos misses bond interest payment-analyst

Trouble ahead for Debt-Laden Casinos

Station Casinos Announces Solicitation of Acceptances for Restructuring Plan; Fertitta Family and Colony Capital Commit to Invest, in the Aggregate, Up to $244 Million if Acceptable Accord is Reached

It will be interesting to see if this has any major impact on the UFC. The Fertittas and Dana White are already paying down a $350 million senior secured credit facility themselves and could run into trouble with that payment schedule if the Station Casinos trouble gets any worse. Unless Dana White’s got some major cash on reserve it looks like it may be time to start shopping the UFC around to see if anyone might buy it for the far-fetched billion-dollar price tag that’s been plugged by press outlets as prominent as Forbes Magazine. Chances are the UFC is strong enough to survive and thrive without a need for any kind of major cash infusion in the near future, but if Station Casinos does not recover and the UFC suffers any big setbacks in the coming months we might see the league get into some trouble paying interest on their $350 million financing package. One thing is pretty certain, the UFC is not going bankrupt anytime soon. Only time will tell what will happen in the long run. Stay tuned.

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