Cosmopolitan Sells! $1.73 Billion

http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/cosmopolitan-sold-blackstone-group-173-billion

 

i was there yesterday and wierd shit, the whole first level of the underground paking gargarge closed and they where going level by level

 

By HOWARD STUTZ quote;We also think this announcement speaks to a historically smart real estate buyer making a statement on the length of the Las Vegas Strip recovery, also a positive,” Greff said.


I agree. Is it business as any other day going on?

 

Do you mean they were closing the entire garage? And was there an indication that was related to this news?

 

there was wird shit, i went yesterday and the first level was closed and they where removing cars level by level making u park lower down, notsure why but security where asses

i was going for my free promo chip i hope the still honor them

 

This has to be good for the Cosmo. It's got to be better than being bank owned.

 

Will be interesting next 6 months to see what changes are made.

 

It will likely be a few if not 5-6 months before conditions are met and the deal closes. They certainly wouldn't be doing any physical due diligence at this point.

Post closing I would be surprised to see any major changes, at least not immediately since the place is finally poised to start making money and they won't have to deal with being integrated into the MGM or CET fold.

Time will tell, but I see this as a positive for Vegas.

Edit: It's also good news that Cosmo was bought by a PE firm. They won't face some of the same pressures (read poor decisions) that some of the public co's have.

 

Blackstone Buys Cosmo for 1.7B

Blackstone (smartest guys in Finance IMO) just purchased the Cosmo for 1.7B. Probably more of a spec RE play for them, and they'll probably flip this 5-10 years down the road and double their money.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/05/15/deutsche-bank-to-sell-cosmopolitan-casino-to-blackstone/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

Nice little 2.1B dollar bath for DB...

 

I started a thread in the Industry & Development forum... Didn't see this one.

As I said over there, Blackstone IMO are the smartest group of guys working in Finance. I think this is more of a speculative RE play for them, and they'll look to flip this in 5-15 years as Vegas continues to strengthen and they'll double their money. They don't have much experience in the casino business, but they're plenty experienced in hospitality and CRE.

 

Does Blackstone have any experience with running casinos? Do any PE companies? I know Harrah's/Caesar's was taken private and basically levered up and brought back public -- classic PE move -- but I wouldn't say they really did anything successfully. It'll be interesting to see if they make any significant changes once the takeover is complete

 

FWIW, I just talked to my host and at least the marketing people are excited. They had a big meeting yesterday with management about the deal and the marketing folks are encouraged that new ownership will let them do more to bring in players. After the meeting, my host signed a new two year contract. I take that as a good sign, or at least an encouraging one. The marketing people there always complained that DB just didn't know how to run a casino. Seems like they got them loosen up on comps a bit in the past year or so, so hopefully the new owners will continue that trend

 

is ur host the one with red hair..

 

Running them? No. What PE is, at times, good at is putting talented people in a position to excel. It probably all depends on what the buyer intends for the property. They could go the direction of slashing everything and squeezing every penny out of the place until there is not much left of significant value. Or they could go the direction of building the place up, making it more attractive down the road to a future buyer, and turning a profit that way. I have no idea, but I suspect a lot of depends on the buyer's assumptions about future real estate values on the Strip.

 

No. Different one

 

No outside of a small stake in Caesars, they have no experience in the casino business. However, Blackstone is the best PE firm around, and they have extensive experience in the CRE and Hospitality industries.

I'd be willing to wager that they have the Cosmo profitable within 3 years.

 

I would also think, too, that a company like Blackstone is smart enough to realize that trying to trim costs at Cosmopolitan is a losing proposition -- what they really need is the opposite, to loosen the strings when it comes to player development and get people in the door who aren't just headed to Marquee. Especially when you look at the price as opposed to their annual cash flow, which to me says that they realize the property needs significant operational development.

 

it was just announced on local tv and all depends on gaming apporoval

 

Wow what's with all the Blackstone love?

I know and have worked with a lot of guys in their credit hedge fund arm (GSO) and they've been on the wrong side of a lot of trades. Granted PE is what they're more famous for, but its the same guys who are at all the big shops like Apollo, KKR, TPG, Carlyle, Warburg Pincus, and dozens of others. I know people at several of these firms and there isn't much differentiation at the top places.

Remember Blackstone's biggest deal ever was buying Hilton at the very top of the market and having to go into a debt restructuring a few years later. Let's not pretend they're infallible.

Edited to add: That isn't to suggest I don't think Blackstone will be a good owner, I think they will be and will probably improve it a lot. I just don't think they are ideal from a player's perspective. I had much more hope it would be someone like Crown.

 

Glad I already have my Marriott Rewards night booked. Hard to imagine this having a longterm Marriott association. once(if) this is all approved it's easy to see Blackstone wanting HH integration.
All down the road, for sure. But makes sense, right?

scratch that.... Blackstone took Hilton IPO in Dec. So..... who knows?!?