Centaur Inc., owner of Hoosier Park in Indiana, closed Oct. 30 on a $1-billion financing package, almost half of which will be used to develop a slot-machine casino at Hoosier.
A release from the company claimed it’s one of the largest transactions by a gaming company in Indiana, which has multiple riverboat casinos and one land-based casino. The transaction was funded in part by MH Equity, Indiana’s largest private equity fund, with the global investment banking firm Credit Suisse.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We couldn’t be more pleased with our financing package,” Centaur chairman and chief executive officer Roderick Ratcliff said in a statement. “The end result of this deal speaks to the quality of our projects and the people involved in these two Indiana companies. Our success will mean more economic development in Indiana and more jobs for Hoosiers.”
More than $400 million of the package will be used at Hoosier Park, the Anderson racetrack that earlier this year got the go-ahead to install slot machines. The project is expected to bring hundreds of new jobs to the state, with the potential for thousands more indirect jobs, Centaur officials said.
Indiana Downs in Shelbyville also is developing its property to accommodate slots. Hoosier Park and Indiana Downs are the only two pari-mutuel tracks in the state.
About $250 million will cover licensing fees to be used by the Indiana government. The balance of the proceeds will be invested in the company’s other North American operations, including Lawrence County, Pa., where Centaur plans to build Valley View Downs, a harness track and casino, pending final gaming license approval.
Stephen Hilbert, CEO of MH Equity and a Thoroughbred owner from Indiana, said he has ties to the Centaur team, and worked with Ratcliff on the Argosy Casino project in Lawrenceburg, Ind.
“MH Equity is an essential part of Centaur’s strategy for the future,” Ratcliff said. “In addition to its role as a financing partner in our projects in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Colorado, they have been and will continue to be important advocates for us as we continue our growth.”
Centaur, a privately held Indiana-based company, also operates Fortune Valley Hotel & Casino in Central City, Colo.