Takeover offer made for Vegas mall, poker bar operator

Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2000 | 11:12 a.m.

A hostile takeover offer has been made for Revenue Properties Co., owner of several major Las Vegas shopping centers and a partner in the local PT's Pub chain of video poker bars.

Rai Sahi, chief executive officer of Acktion Corp. of Toronto, said his real estate and property management company is disappointed in the performance of Revenue Properties, another Toronto real estate company.

Revenue Properties controls shopping mall owner Pan Pacific Retail Properties and acquired a 50 percent interest in PT Gaming LLC in 1998.

"We've indicated that we're disappointed in their share performance over the years, we've indicated that we weren't pleased with their foray into gaming," Sahi told the Reuters news service. "We invested in a real estate company, not a casino operator."

Pan Pacific, a San Diego-based shopping center, has six properties and a regional office in the Las Vegas area.

Acktion launched its unsolicited $68 million (Canadian) bid for Revenue Properties Monday. Acktion officials said the bid is valued at $2.50 (Canadian) a share in cash. The deal would give Acktion a 50.1 percent stake in Revenue Properties.

In a statement today, Revenue Properties acknowledged the bid and said shareholders would be contacted once the company meets with advisers "to consider an appropriate response to the Acktion announcement."

Sahi and Revenue Properties Chief Executive Paul Campbell could not be reached for comment today.

In 1997, Revenue Properties formed RPC Gaming Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, and it was approved to operate by Nevada gaming regulators. RPC invested in PT Gaming, which now has 21 pubs in operation in the Las Vegas area, and the PT Mining Co., a casino in Henderson with 163 slot machines.

There are four unrestricted properties operated by PT Gaming with a total of 138 slot machines between them. Seventeen PT properties operate with restricted licenses, meaning they have 15 or fewer machines.

A typical PT's Pub has about 4,000 to 6,000 square feet in a sports bar environment with a full-service restaurant. Local owners are Phil and Tom Boeckle, while Paul Hill serves as general manager.

Pan Pacific operates the Sahara Pavilion North, Sahara Pavilion South, Cheyenne Commons, Rainbow Promenade, Green Valley Town and Country and Winterwood Pavilion shopping centers in the Las Vegas area.

Pan Pacific is acquiring Western Properties Trust, Emeryville, Calif., which has seven shopping centers in Northern Nevada, but no Las Vegas holdings, in a $440 million stock and debt deal announced in August.

Revenue Properties also owns four shopping centers in Canada, the largest of which is the 600,000-square-foot Centerpoint in Toronto. It also has 2,400 townhouse and apartment units in metropolitan Toronto and more than 1,000 residential lots in Guelph, Ontario.

Today, Revenue Properties shares were up 19 cents to $1.50 from Monday's closing price.

Also today, Pan Pacific reported its third-quarter earnings. The company reported net income of U.S. $8.7 million, 41 cents per share, on revenues of $28 million compared with $8 million, 38 cents per share, on revenues of $25.4 million for the same period a year earlier.