The US gaming group Century Casinos is to increase its presence in South Africa. It already owns the Caledon Casino, Hotel & Spa near Cape Town and has announced a definitive agreement to acquire 60% of Balele Leisure together with a management contract to operate its hotel and casino property. The cost of the deal is around US$8.6 million, with a further sum of about US$370,000 payable if casino revenue exceeds US$14.2 million in the first 12 months of operation.

Balele owns Monte Vista Casino & Conference Centre in Newcastle, in the heart of the Battlefields Region of northwestern Kwazulu-Natal province. It opened in September 1999 and gaming is currently operating at a temporary site with 7 table games and 200 slot machines. The company has plans to move to a more prominent location covering 70 acres and develop a larger casino, 40-room hotel, conference centre, bars and restaurants. The management contract provides for Century Casinos to receive 3.75% of total revenue and 7.5% of Balele EBIDTA.

Monte Vista Casino is smaller than Century’s Caledon operation but is expected to become a substantial part of the company’s casino portfolio. A letter of intent was entered into in June by Century Casinos Africa (Pty) Ltd, a subsidiary of Century Casinos, Inc, and Balele Leisure (Pty) Ltd. The agreement now announced is subject to the usual regulatory approval but should close by March 2006. (E-11.21.05)

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