Sega Entertainment has sold its US-based Gameworks chain, which now consists of seven locations, to an investor group headed by theme park and arcade chain veteran Steve Dooner.
Now known as Gameworks Entertainment, the company has moved its headquarters from the Chicago suburbs to Las Vegas, according to US trade press. To finance the purchase, Dooner has confirmed Los Angeles investment bank Mosaic Capital syndicated a deal with private investors and HNB Capital of Redondo Beach, California. The purchase price was not disclosed.
Dooner has spent 30 years in operations and development with organisations including Chuck E Cheese’s, Disney, Universal, Discovery Zone and ESPN Zone, as well as several amusement companies. He will now act as Gameworks’ chief executive, replacing Corey Haynes, who he praised for "beginning to turn Gameworks around strongly."
Darlene Keyes, former vice-president of operations for resorts in Florida and Panama, has taken over as head of Gameworks game operations, Charis Gaillard, former MGM Resorts director of food and beverage, has the same post at Gameworks and former Cisco executive Dina Kelley is vice-president of marketing.
Dooner originally tried to buy Gameworks in 2001 and discussed the possibilities of making the acquisition a second time in 2004 before the chain was declared bankrupt. His third and successful round of negotiations with Sega began in January 2010.
At its height, there were 18 Gameworks venues across the US, as well as three overseas in Guam, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
