Pinnacle Entertainment will acquire Ameristar Casinos for $2.8 billion, including debt, the company announced Friday.
According to a news release, Pinnacle will benefit from increased operational and geographic diversity by more than doubling in size to 17 operating properties in 13 distinct geographies. The acquisition of Ameristar's properties will complement Pinnacle's existing portfolio by adding eight casino-resorts in several U.S. gaming markets, including: St. Charles, Missouri; Kansas City, Missouri; Council Bluffs, Iowa; Black Hawk, Colorado; Vicksburg, Mississippi; East Chicago, Indiana; and Jackpot, Nevada.
Pinnacle expects the transaction to close by the end of the third quarter of 2013.
In more hotel transaction news, MCR Development LLC announced Friday it will acquire 10 Marriott and Hilton hotels from Skye Hospitality.
The portfolio, which comprises 1,294 rooms, will be managed by MCR Property Management, and all 10 of the properties will continue to be branded under long-term license agreements with Marriott and Hilton's select-service and extended-stay brands.
STR and STR Global, respective parent company and sister company of HotelNewsNow.com, released on Friday global performance results for the month of November.
Americas: The Americas region ended the month with a 1.8% increase in occupancy to 57%, a 3.6% gain in average daily rate to $106.97 and a 5.4% increase in revenue per available room to $60.99.
Asia/Pacific: In year-over-year measurements, the Asia/Pacific region’s occupancy ended the month down with a 1.1% decrease to 72.1%, its ADR rose 2.5% to $132.25 and its RevPAR was up 1.4% to $95.34.
Europe: In year-over-year measurements, Europe’s occupancy ended November flat at 65.4%, ADR was down 0.2% to $129.76 and RevPAR also decreased 0.2% to $84.93.
Middle East/Africa: The region’s occupancy increased 0.9% to 65.9% during the month, its ADR fell 6.2% to $172.82 and its RevPAR decreased 5.4% to $113.89.
U.S. consumer spending increased in November as Americans prepared for the holiday season and made up shopping lost to Superstorm Sandy, according to a Bloomberg report.
Purchases increased 0.4% last month after a 0.1% drop in October that was smaller than previously estimated, according to Commerce Department figures released Friday. The gain matched the median forecast of 80 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
Investment activity in key European markets remains strong for upscale hotels, according to the latest Hotel Investor Sentiment Survey by Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels.
Forty percent of respondents stated that their investment activity over the next six months will be to ‘buy’ assets, with positive buy intentions focused on Germany’s major cities and other key European markets including London, Warsaw, Poland, Vienna, Amsterdam and Paris.
Results show that the most sought after type of asset was upscale hotels with 28.8% of investors indicating their interest in targeting these properties for investments. By contrast, the weakest sentiment was recorded for lower asset classes in particular the budget and serviced apartment sector, according to results.
Compiled by Stephanie Wharton.
