LV businessman looks to raise $100M on IPO
Parking garage stock set for Nasdaq listing
Las Vegas businessman Michael Shustek is seeking to raise as much as $100 million for his latest real estate investment trust through an initial public offering of stock and plans to list the shares on the Nasdaq exchange.
The Parking REIT, which invests in parking lots and garages around the U.S., will trade under the stock ticker PARK, according to documents filed last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company did not give a time frame for the completion of the stock sale or a price range. Proceeds from the sale will be used to pay down $9.1 million of debt and to purchase more property.
The Parking REIT owns 42 lots and garages in 17 states, according to the documents filed with the SEC last week. As of June 30, the REIT has assets worth $330 million and total debt of $166 million, most of which matures after 2022. The company has lost money in each of the past three years totaling about $11 million in part because of startup and transaction costs, according to the filing.
Shustek created The Parking REIT in 2017 by merging two parking-related funds he set up in 2012 and 2015. The businessman raised about $180 million from investors through several private placements that valued shares of The Parking REIT at $25 each.
Tough market
The Parking REIT share offering comes at a tough time as the stock market suffers its biggest sell-off in more than half a year.
Only four REITS have held initial public offerings of stock in the first three quarters of this year compared with nine in the same period last year, according to the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts.
Secondary equity and debt offerings are also down compared with last year.
“The main reason publicly traded REITS are raising less capital in the public markets is that their acquisition activity is down due to high prices in the private commercial property market,” said Ron Kuyken
PARKING
Vegas, and the Strip generated about $4.3 billion in gambling revenue. By comparison, 1.3 million people visited Laughlin during that time, and the town generated $349 million in gambling revenue, according to Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority data.
Still, Las Vegas’ visitor volume through August was down 1.1 percent from the same period last year, compared with a 0.5 percent dip in Laughlin, and the Strip’s gambling revenue was up 0.9 percent, versus a 2.5 percent bump in Laughlin, LVCVA data show.
Laughlin relies more heavily on seniors to fill its rooms — 58 percent of its visitors last year were retirees, versus 17 percent in Las Vegas — but more of its tourists come to strike it rich.
Some 98 percent of Laughlin visitors last year gambled while there, compared with 74 percent in Las Vegas. Among those who hit the casino floors in Laughlin, the average gambling budget for their trip was almost $635, and they spent an average of 5.1 hours a day at it, compared with a $541 gambling budget in Las Vegas and an average of 1.6 hours per day on the floor, according to the LVCVA.
Of course, Laughlin is by no means a sure bet for casino owners. Laughlin-bullhead International Airport only has charter flights, albeit from more than 100 cities, according to its website, and with the vast majority of visitors driving in, rising gas prices can dampen guest volume in the remote tourist town.
The Laughlin Event Center gets big-name performers, and the town has outdoor recreation, but overall, Laughlin seems light on activities outside the casinos, especially compared with Las Vegas.
Laughlin isn’t for everyone, but with tourists dropping cash at the tables and slots, some new investors are getting in on the action — even if it’s a bit sleepy.
Contact Eli Segall at esegall@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.