Z Capital Partners has acquired a 24.97 percent stake in Affinity Gaming, a multi-jurisdictional casino operator with wholly-owned casino operations in Nevada, Missouri and Iowa, becoming its largest shareholder.
“We have great respect for Affinity Gaming and its strong commitment to guests, employees, and partners,” said James Zenni, President and Chief Executive Officer of Z Capital. “This investment has been a two year process and we see significant potential for long-term growth at Affinity Gaming and look forward to supporting management’s efforts to lead the company into its next phase.”
Affinity Gaming is a diversified casino gaming company headquartered in Las Vegas. The company’s operations consist of 12 casinos, nine of which are located in Nevada, two in Missouri and one in Iowa. Affinity Gaming is also the landlord of three additional casinos in Colorado and expects to be licensed to operate those casinos in the second half of 2012. Additionally, Affinity Gaming has entered into a consulting agreement to support the operations of the Rampart Casino at the J.W. Marriott Resort in Las Vegas (www.affinitygaming.com).
“Z Capital has been a long-time supporter of our management, employees and business strategy, and we are excited to see them step up into a more prominent role in our ownership,” said David Ross, Chief Executive Officer of Affinity Gaming. “We believe that this new level of support from Z Capital will provide us with greater flexibility to execute our strategic plan of growing cash flow through elevating our guest experience, enhancing our value proposition and improving the overall performance of our properties.”
Z Capital makes control investments in middle-market distressed companies, operational turnarounds and special situations. The firm targets companies with an enterprise value of less than $1 billion or EBITDA of less than $100 million. Sectors of interest include consumer products, steel, steel processors, agricultural, gaming, leisure, real estate, manufacturing, specialty services and automotive. Z Capital Partners was formed by Mr. Zenni, the former President, co-owner and co-founder of Black Diamond Capital Management. Mr. Zenni co-managed the portfolios of Black Diamond from its inception in 1995 to approximately $9 billion in assets under management and divested his fifty percent equity ownership interest in BDCM in October 2006. Z Capital is based in Chicago, IL (www.zcap.net).
