Vici completes quadruple Alberta casino purchase from Century

Announced by Vici in May, the sale-leaseback transaction covers the entire Century portfolio of land-based casinos in Canada.

Vici takes ownership of Century Casino & Hotel Edmonton, Century Casino St Albert, Century Mile Racetrack and Casino along with Century Downs.

The purchase is being funded using proceeds from a partial settlement of forward equity sale agreements and funds from an existing revolving credit facility.

Vici-Century master lease agreement extended  

The casinos will be added to the existing master lease agreement between Vici and Century. Annual rent will increase by $17.3m or 7.8% of the cost of the acquisition.

This agreement is also being extended so that the lease has a full 15-year initial base lease term. This includes four five-year tenant renewal options, with Century agreeing to exercise its initial renewal option.

Century says it will use proceeds to fund improvements at its Nugget Casino Resort in Nevada and general corporate purposes.

“We are pleased to extend our good partnership with Vici to our Canada portfolio,” Century co-chief executives Erwin Haitzmann and Peter Hoetzinger said. “This transaction provides us with the ability to pay down our debt and with greater financial flexibility as we continue to grow.”

Mixed Q2 for Vici and Century

The sale comes after both Vici and Century posted revenue growth in the second quarter.

Vici reported revenue of $898.2m, up by 35.5% year-on-year, mainly as a result of strategic acquisitions.

Meanwhile, despite suffering a 96.3% decline in net profit, Century reported record revenue of $136.8m in the second quarter.