Trump and Griffin Say Resorts Deal Is in the Cards Again
New York deal maker Donald J. Trump and Los Angeles producer Merv Griffin said late Friday that they have reached a definitive agreement on the sale of Resorts International to Griffin. Concurrently, Trump is to buy the company’s massive, uncompleted Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, N.J.
The agreement on the eve of the holiday weekend came after last week’s resumption of negotiations. It had become an off-again-on-again situation, with Trump on May 11 calling off a handshake agreement that had been announced April 14.
Terms of the deal are about the same as the ones reported last month, according to an attorney for Griffin in the talks.
Griffin--through his Griffin Co.--will wind up as the owner of the now public company and its operating casino in Atlantic City, along with its Paradise Island hotel-casino complex near Nassau in the Bahamas.
Class B Stock Arrangement
As reported by the parties Friday, the arrangement includes a cash merger in which Griffin will pay all public Resorts shareholders $36 a share for their stock. With 5,679,411 shares outstanding, that would amount to about $200 million.
In addition, Trump will sell his controlling block of Class B stock to Griffin for $135 a share, or about $100 million. Trump also is to be paid $60 million to cancel his management contract with Resorts.
Finally, Trump will pay Griffin $230 million for the Taj Mahal and “certain related assets.” The figure is subject to “certain closing adjustments,” the brief joint announcement said.
It was over such matters that the talks broke down earlier this month. Thomas E. Gallagher, a New York attorney for Griffin, said at the time that one issue in dispute was which Resorts liabilities would remain with the company; another was allocation of a parking garage being built for both the Taj Mahal and the existing Resorts International Casino Hotel.
Griffin, a former television talk show host who made a fortune from the “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy” TV game shows, made an unsolicited, $35-a-share offer for Resorts on March 17, topping Trump’s $22-a-share plan to take the company private. For nearly a month, Trump refused to sell his controlling interest.
In a joint statement Friday, the two said that they were “delighted” to reach an accord, adding that they look forward to “a long and mutually rewarding relationship” as owners of neighboring casinos in Atlantic City.
More Details
Gallagher commented later that the prospect of a long holiday weekend was a “material incentive” to concluding the intensive negotiations. “The net effect is basically the same as where we were before,” he said, referring to the aborted handshake pact.
This time, he said, the agreements are “pretty detailed.”
The agreements are to be presented to a special committee of Resorts’ outside directors for review. Completion of the deal is conditioned on approval by that committee and the full board, the parties said, as well as regulatory approvals and the termination of certain lawsuits.
