Bryan Matthews

Vici buys Jack.     Vici Properties buys Jack Cleveland Casino and Jack Thistledown Racino from Jack Entertainment for $843.3 million.     The Cleveland casino has 96,000 square feet of gaming space and is linked to the Ritz-Carlton and Renaissance hotels in downtown Cleveland. The Thistledown Racino is located about 10 miles southeast of downtown in North Randall, Ohio.     Vici will lease the properties to Jack Entertainment at an annual rent of $65.9 million for an initial term of 15 years. Both properties will continue to operate under the Jack name. Vici Properties’ portfolio is 24 gaming facilities, leased to such names as Caesars Entertainment, Penn National Gaming, and Hard Rock International.     John Payne of Vici Properties said: ‘We are excited to partner with the team at Jack Entertainment as they focus on investing and operating in the Cleveland market. Ohio continues to be one of the healthiest and fastest-growin...

Flushing buys Empire.     Flushing Financial buys Empire Bancorp for $111.6 million.     Empire National Bank will merge with and into Flushing Bank.  The combined firm will have $8 billion in assets, $6.3 billion in loans, $5.8 billion in deposits, and 23 branches in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Long Island.     John Buran of Flushing Financial said: ‘I am pleased to welcome Empire National Bank, a commercial bank with deep ties to the Long Island community and a strong track record of growth, into the Flushing Bank family.  I am confident that combining our two companies will be compelling to our respective shareholders, customers, and employees.  There are strong synergies between our two organizations both culturally and operationally.  We both share a similar focus toward serving small and medium-sized businesses and have a similar core customer base.  We are both focused on building relationships with the communities...

DTE buys Momentum and Indigo.     DTE Energy buys M5 Louisiana Holdings from Momentum Midstream and Indigo Natural Resources for $2.25 billion.     Momentum and Indigo are a gathering system and gathering pipeline in the Haynesville Shale formation of Louisiana. They gather natural gas produced in the Haynesville Basin and access major downstream pipelines, including those serving the Gulf Coast. Assets are an existing gathering system and a 150-mile gathering pipeline under construction. They’re fully contracted, with 13.5 years residual for the existing gathering system, and a 10-year contract for the gathering pipeline under construction.     DTE Midstream provides natural gas storage, 1,900 miles of pipeline, and gathering services across the Midwest, Appalachia, Northeast, and Ontario. They have a proven track record of creating value in various basins stretching back 30 years. Firstly, in the Michigan producing basins, then the Texas Barnett...

Parsley buys Jagged Peak.     Parsley Energy buys Jagged Peak Energy for $2.27 billion.     The deal gives Parsley 267,000 net acres in the Permian, the biggest US oil production area and the second biggest for natural gas. 147,000 net acres in the Midland Basin and a highly contiguous 120,000 net acre footprint in the Delaware Basin. The all-stock transaction will give Parsley shareholders 77% and Jagged Peak shareholders 23% of the joint company.     Parsley and Jagged Peak have both seen a solid change for the better in recent Delaware Basin well costs. Sustained drilling and completion efficiency gains coupled with the supply chain advantages of optimized scale have accelerated this material reduction in overhead.     Matt Gallagher of Parsley said: The combination of Parsley and Jagged Peak is a natural fit. Jagged Peak's oily, high-margin asset base slots in nicely to our returns-focused development approach. Its acreage footprint...

UCB buys Ra Pharma.     UCB buys Ra Pharmaceuticals for $2.1 billion.     Ra Pharma is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company leveraging a proprietary peptide chemistry platform to develop new therapeutics for the healing of diseases caused by excessive or uncontrolled activation of the complement system, a critical part of the innate immune system.  Their most developed therapy is for myasthenia gravis, a so-called orphan disease caused when antibodies disrupt communication between nerves and muscles.     Beyond myasthenia gravis, the deal allows UCB to offer new treatments for rare diseases in neurology and immunology, and different delivery systems, such as extended-release and orally available product.  The joint portfolio will offer synergies in the outreach to people with rare diseases and the health care market.     Jean-Christophe Tellier of UCB said: ‘Ra Pharma is a strategic fit addressing areas of UCB’s patient val...

FM:Systems buys Workspace Management.     FM:Systems buys Workspace Management from Asure Software for $120 million.     The FM stands for Facility Management.  Their tech enables facility and real estate people to find, plan, and deliver the ideal workplace for every worker.  Workspace Management elevates how, when, and where work gets done.  Its systems enhance the room booking process, using proprietary sensor hardware and analytics.  Trends emphasize the need to give people quick and easy access to workspaces that let them deliver their best.     Kurt von Koch of FM:Systems said: ‘This acquisition will strengthen and complement our portfolio of workplace solutions.  By combining our top-ranked IWMS (Integrated Workplace Management System) and data science platform with Asure’s best in class room scheduling, hotdesking, and workplace sensor solutions we take a giant leap forward in fulfilling our mission to provide technolo...

Summit buys four West Coast hotels.     Summit Hotel Properties buys four West Coast hotels for $249 million through its recently formed joint venture with GIC.     They are Residence Inn by Marriott Portland Downtown/RiverPlace, Hilton Garden Inn San Francisco Airport North, Hilton Garden Inn San Jose/ Milpitas , and Residence Inn by Marriott Portland Hillsboro. The joint venture will invest $23 million to transform the four hotels over the next three years.     The Residence Inn by Marriott Portland Downtown/RiverPlace is located in the evolving RiverPlace district, which is enjoying major development, especially Oregon Health & Science University's opening out just south of the hotel. Portland's walkable downtown district offers bars, restaurants, parks, trails, and shopping. Continued development of the Pearl District has made Portland a top leisure destination on the West Coast.     The Hilton Garden Inn San Francisco A...

Aptiv buys Gabocom.     Aptiv buys Gabo Systemtechnik from Bregal Unternehmerkapital for $310 million.     Gabocom is a foremost supplier of highly engineered cable management and protection solutions for the telecommunications industry.     Kevin Clark of Aptiv said: ‘Gabocom is a strong strategic fit for Aptiv and highly complementary to our HellermannTyton business.  This transaction broadens our capabilities in the telecommunications market and expands our platform for growth in key industrial markets.’     Gabocom will become a part of HellermannTyton, a business unit of Aptiv's Signal and Power Solutions segment.     GCA Advisors served as financial adviser to Aptiv.

Blackstone buys Colony.     Blackstone buys Colony Industrial from Colony Capital for $5.9 billion.     The deal is for 60 million square feet of warehouse assets across 465 light industrial buildings in 26 US markets, concentrated in Dallas, Atlanta, Florida, New Jersey, and California. It also includes a 51 percent ownership interest in a 4 million square foot portfolio of bulk distribution assets and the associated operating platform which manages both portfolios.     Colony Capital is pivoting away from traditional real estate holdings toward digital infrastructure and real estate like cell phone towers and data centers.     Nadeem Meghji of Blackstone said: ‘We are seeing accelerating demand for warehouse space in dense population centers, as goods move online, and retailers and consumers alike seek faster delivery times. This acquisition of high-quality warehouses demonstrates our continued strong conviction in logistics and po...