Twin River Paying $120 Million for Jumer’s Casino in Initial Illinois Entry

Posted on: October 1, 2020, 09:19h. 

Last updated on: October 1, 2020, 10:10h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Twin River Worldwide Holdings (NYSE:TRWH) is purchasing Jumer’s Casino & Hotel in Rock Island, Ill. for $120 million in cash, marking the company’s first move into the Prairie State.

Jumer's
Jumer’s Casino in Rock Island, Ill. seen here when it closed because of COVID-19. Twin River is buying the venue for $120 million in cash. (Image: Quad-City Times)

Jumer’s has a 40,000 square foot casino with 870 slot machines, 25 table games, and a 205-room hotel. Twin River said the deal is scheduled to close in the second quarter of 2021.

The total consideration for the transaction represents an implied proforma purchase multiple of approximately 7.4x trailing twelve months earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Adjusted EBITDA),” according to the Rhode Island-based operator.

TRWH said it’s financing the acquisition with a mix of cash on hand, cash from ongoing operations, and revolving credit facilities.

Twin River: Always Acquisitive

If investors and the broader gaming industry are learning anything about TRWH, it’s that the company has an appetite for dealmaking. One that remains undaunted despite the coronavirus pandemic.

When the operator of Rhode Island’s two casinos went public in March 2019, its roster of properties consisted of the pair in its home state, a Colorado dog track, Dover Downs in Delaware, and Hard Rock in Biloxi, Miss. Following the Jumer’s deal and accounting for three buys currently under contract, “Twin River will operate 13 properties in nine states.”

TRWH also has a penchant for snagging good deals. Earlier this year, it acquired three gaming venues, including Bally’s Atlantic City, for a combined sum of just $180 million.

The Jumer’s buy doesn’t qualify as high robbery to the extent of getting a Boardwalk hotel for just $25 million, as TRWH is doing with Bally’s. But the Illinois deal will be immediately accretive to the buyer’s earnings, it said.

Why Geographic Diversity Matters

TRWH’s two Ocean State venues, the Twin River and Tiverton, currently are the operator’s top contributors to EBITDA and revenue. But as the company adds more properties in other states, it reduces home state concentration risk.

Twin River’s acquisitive ways serve another purpose: Rapid expansion of the firm’s sports betting footprint.

The Jumer’s acquisition “provides access to a growing gaming market in Illinois, with the potential to capitalize on potentially lucrative sports betting opportunities,” said TRWH CEO George Papanier.

Jumer’s wasn’t among the initial batch of Illinois casinos to receive approval for retail sportsbook operations. But the state suspending the in-person registration for mobile betting is reportedly accelerating the property’s online wagering ambitions.

While TRWH has sports wagering exposure in Delaware, Mississippi, and Rhode Island, those are small markets, and the first two currently don’t allow mobile betting.

Through completed or pending deals, TRWH is adding brick-and-mortar and online sports betting offerings in Colorado, Illinois, and New Jersey. The Garden State is the largest market in the country for sports wagering, while the Centennial State and the Land of Lincoln are two of the newest, fastest-growing entrants to that fray.