Horse racing company Churchill Downs has agreed to buy Oxford Casino in the US state of Maine for about $160m.
The deal, which is pending the acquisition of a gaming licence from the Maine Gaming Control Board, is expected to immediately add to Churchill Downs’ per-share earnings and provide annual cash flow of roughly $12.5m.
Oxford Casino is owned by Black Bear Realty and opened in June last year, completing an expansion of its gaming floor in early October. Churchill Downs said the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
“The acquisition of Oxford continues our focus on investing capital in gaming-friendly states, in newer properties, in what we believe are competitively defensible markets and at valuations that we believe will result in significant future free cash flow generation at rates of return attractive to our shareholders,” Churchill Downs’ chairman and CEO Robert Evans said.
The company runs the Kentucky Derby and other thoroughbred races. Churchill Downs owns its namesake racetrack and others in Kentucky, California and Florida.
