Station stock lifted by buyout rumors

Friday, Aug. 4, 2000 | 10:42 a.m.

Shares of Station Casinos Inc. of Las Vegas rose this morning following a column by Business Week that asserts the company is talking with potential buyers.

In its Aug. 14 "Inside Wall Street" column, Business Week referred to an Aug. 1 column by Gaming Today Publisher Chuck Di Rocco, which said Station was in talks with several companies -- including Park Place Entertainment and MGM MIRAGE -- about a possible acquisition. Di Rocco, citing unnamed sources, said the company could get $20 to $25 per share in a takeover bid.

Station said it wasn't for sale, Business Week said, while Park Place declined comment. An MGM MIRAGE spokesman declined comment this morning.

The Business Week column was the subject of news items this morning by Bloomberg News and Reuters. In midday trading on Wall Street, Station rose 31 cents to $13.25.

"Given the sale of the Missouri assets, it enhances the likelihood of a sale as new potential buyers may be more interested in the Las Vegas-only company," said David Anders, gaming analyst for Merrill Lynch.

Anders, who said he had not heard of any sale, also mentioned Harrah's Entertainment Inc. as a likely suitor, should Station become available for sale.

Gaming industry observers believe any sale of Station would likely hinge on developments in Missouri, where company officials have been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury and Missouri gaming officials on bonus payments made to former counsel Michael Lazaroff, who has pleaded guilty to fraud charges.

If the issues for Station in Missouri aren't favorably resolved, observers say, a sale of the company would become far more likely. Station has denied wrongdoing in its dealings with Lazaroff.