Is Zuffa Sale to Abu Dhabi Group An Effort to Save Fertitta Brothers' Station Casinos?
By: Fighters.com Staff Posted On: January 12, 2010 at 10:42pmZuffa, LLC, parent company of the UFC and WEC, has sold a 10% stake to Abu Dhabi government-owned Flash Entertainment, Zuffa announced Tuesday.
“We got to know these guys discussing an event in Abu Dhabi,” said UFC President Dana White in an official release. “This led to the investment conversation. After conducting in-depth due diligence, they saw the tremendous global potential of the UFC brand. The guys who run this company are young, hip, aggressive visionaries. They are big thinkers.”
UFC 112 is scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi April 10.
White added, “We did this deal because of the huge opportunities it provides for UFC’s global growth.”
However, Fighters.com wonders aloud whether the sale has more to do with Zuffa, LLC majority owners Frank and Lorenzo Feritta’s family business, Station Casinos, Inc.
Founded by their father, Frank, Station Casinos, Inc. is amidst bankruptcy restructuring and being hounded by creditors. Last month, competitor Boyd Gaming Corp. made a $2.45 billion offer for the company that Bloomberg reports lists assets of $5.7 billion and debt of $6.5 billion.
With Zuffa, LLC becoming the Fertitta brothers’ most promising asset over the last two years, Fighters.com wonders if the sale to Flash Entertainment is to raise cash to hang on to their family business until the American economy improves.
Las Vegas has been hit hard among American cities by the global recession, contributing to the hastened decline of Stations Casinos. However, the UFC has grown consistently since the debut of SpikeTV’s reality contest “The Ultimate Fighter”. Ironically, what began as a shot in the dark investment for the casino mogul Fertitta brothers might now be saving their family casino business.
Fighters.com has no specific information that the sale of Zuffa, LLC is has anything to do with Station Casinos, Inc., but it seems a reasonable speculation that the Fertitta’s want to save the business started by their father. The sale of Zuffa, LLC could provide a bridge to hold off creditors and competitors until the Las Vegas casino economy improves and Station Casinos, Inc. can stand on its own.
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Comments
WOW, are you serious? Obviously you didn’t do much research on this topic. While there might be a loose connection to the Station Casinos situation, there’s no way they sold a 10 percent interest in the UFC to save Station Casinos. They did that to keep the UFC from having to take out more loans like the $350 million package that’s just collecting interest right now. Station Casinos will only be saved by a ton of legal fees and billions of dollars in bailout money, which the 10 percent sale of the UFC will not really help them raise. Now, if they actually sell the whole damn thing, you could say Station Casinos’ financial troubles would be a huge factor, but 10 percent doesn’t even warrant speculation that they did this to save Station from bankruptcy.
Station Casinos is already in bankruptcy…
Fertitia is already borrowing money to pay UFC shareholders (i.e., himself) dividends! He’s so deep under water that even Deutsche Bank, a major creditor, has deserted the cause of saving Station Casinos for the Fertitta family to drain. Deutsche wants a court inverstigation into the Station restructuing plan and has inked a deal with Isle of Capri to manage 4 Station properties. Fertitta will drain UFC the way he and his siblings drained Station. Frank Sr. must be rolling in his grave.
Mario – Station Casinos did not ink a deal to have Isle of Capri run the 4 hotels. Read the facts of it properly. The law required the bond holders to ink a deal “in the event” the BK doesnt go through as planned. This is just a formality. But the word on the streets is the BK will go through as planned and it will remain business as usual.
Everyone likes to blame the Fertittas on the finanicals of Station Casinos. But you couldnt ALL be more wrong. The economy has killed vegas. Obama didnt help any by telling businesses to stay away from Vegas. But business will return and everything will be great and you wont be picking on the Fertittas any further!