Columbia Entertainment Completes Aztar Acquisition
JANUARY 4, 2007. Wimar Tahoe, Inc., d/b/a Columbia Entertainment, today completed its acquisition of all of the outstanding common shares of Aztar Corp. (NYSE:AZR) for $54.3996 per share and all outstanding preferred shares of Aztar for $575.3546 per share, for a total of approximately $2.1 billion. The per share amounts include $0.00888 per common share per day and $0.09388 per preferred share per day that Columbia agreed to pay Aztar shareholders beginning on November 20, 2006 through today's closing date.
Under the terms of the agreement, WT-Columbia Development, Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Columbia Entertainment, merged with and into Aztar, with Aztar surviving the merger and becoming an indirect subsidiary of Columbia Entertainment. The acquisition has been approved by gaming authorities in Nevada, New Jersey, and Indiana; and the financing transactions to facilitate the acquisitions have been approved by Louisiana and Mississippi.
Columbia President and CEO William J. Yung said that he expects a smooth transition. "The Tropicana properties have tremendous brand equity." he said. "Over the next several months and years, we fully expect to leverage that equity for our customers, communities and employees."
Bank of America, Credit Suisse and Libra Securities provided investment banking advisory services for the transaction and Credit Suisse acted as the administrative agent, lead arranger and lead book-running manager for the approximately $3.1 billion of senior secured credit facilities and senior subordinated notes used to finance the acquisition of Aztar and to retire existing indebtedness.
Legal and advisory services to Columbia Entertainment were provided by Katz, Teller, Brant & Hild and by Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP. Credit Suisse was represented by Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP.
Columbia Entertainment is a privately held owner and operator of casino gaming properties. With the Aztar purchase, Columbia's portfolio of gaming properties owned or operated now includes 13 casinos in the United States, including Tropicana branded properties in Atlantic City and Las Vegas.
Columbia Entertainment is owned by William J. Yung III, who along with his family also owns Columbia Sussex Corporation, one of the largest privately held owners, developers and operators of hotel properties in the world. Columbia Sussex is the largest licensee of full-service Marriott Hotels in the U.S. The company and its affiliates own 75 hotels and 27,000 rooms across the United States, Canada and the Caribbean that operate under top brand names including Marriott, Hilton, Westin, Sheraton, Renaissance and Doubletree. The companies employ nearly 28,000 people.
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is a global leading lodging company based in Bethesda,Maryland, USA, with more than 4,200 properties in 80 countries and territories. Marriott International reported revenues of nearly $14 billion in fiscal year 2014. The company operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts under 19 brands, including: The Ritz-Carlton®, BVlgari®, EDITION®, JW Marriott®, Autograph Collection® Hotels, Renaissance® Hotels, Marriott Hotels®, Delta Hotels and Resorts®, Marriott Executive Apartments®, Marriott Vacation Club®, Gaylord Hotels®, AC Hotels by Marriott®, Courtyard®, Residence Inn®, SpringHill Suites®, Fairfield Inn & Suites®, TownePlace Suites®, Protea Hotels® and MoxyHotels®. Marriott has been consistently recognized as a top employer and for its superior business ethics. The company also manages the award-winning guest loyalty program, Marriott Rewards® and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® program, which together surpass 50 million members. For more information or reservations, please visit our website at 
