Golden Entertainment has announced that it has expanded its property portfolio by acquiring three Vegas based casinos, the Stratosphere Casino, Hotel & Tower, Arizona Charlie’s Decatur and Arizona Charlie’s Boulder, as well as the Aquarius Casino Resort in Laughlin.

The deal means that Golden now operates 16,000 slot machines, 114 table games and 5,162 hotel rooms across eight casino properties and almost 1,000 distributed gaming locations including the largest branded tavern portfolio in Nevada.

The purchase consideration consisted of $781 million cash and approximately four million shares of Golden Entertainment common stock. Golden financed the cash portion of the transaction and refinanced its existing credit facilities with a new $800 million 1st Lien Term Loan and a $200 million 2nd Lien Term Loan, as well as obtaining a new $100 million senior secured revolving credit facility to support the company’s future organic and strategic growth initiatives.

Blake L. Sartini, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Golden Entertainment, commented: “This acquisition of four leading Southern Nevada properties significantly increases our operational scale and perfectly complements our existing operations. Our new properties and existing businesses are well positioned to grow as they benefit from Nevada’s continued economic strength, particularly in the Las Vegas market. In addition, we have the ability to develop approximately 15 acres of excess real estate surrounding the Stratosphere, which we believe has enormous long-term potential. We look forward to quickly integrating the American operations and welcoming their guests and team members to the Golden family.”

Charles Protell, Chief Financial Officer of Golden, added: “The addition of the American properties to our portfolio firmly establishes Golden as a leading Nevada-focused regional gaming company with expected 2017 pro forma net revenues and adjusted EBITDA of $847 million and $180 million, respectively, which includes $18 million of estimated run-rate synergies. We believe that our expanded asset base, strong operating discipline and ability to quickly realize synergies will result in increased free cash flow, allowing us to reduce leverage as well as reinvest in our existing businesses and new growth opportunities.”

Following on from the deal, Golden Entertainment has also announced it would release its 2017 Q3 financial results after the market closes on Wednesday 8 November.