The Financial Times has reported that embattled European bank Deutsche Bank is preparing to cash-in on its 17% stake in Nevada casino operator Red Rock Resorts (formerly known as Station Casinos).
Deutsche governance are reported to be seeking a $440 million sale price for its stake in Red Rock a company it invested in 2011 as the operator looked to avoid bankruptcy.
For months Deutsche, Europe’s largest investment bank has been advised to sell assets in order to free up additional capital. The bank sees itself exposed to bad debt levels and further faces multiple billion $ lawsuits for falsely selling mortgage securities in the US.
Deutsche’s sale of Red Rock equity follows the expiry of its 180-day investor lock-up period following the casino operators April 2016 IPO on the US Nasdaq, in which it raised $530 million.
As an investor, Deutsche bank has had a fraught relationship with Red Rock. In July 2015, the Las Vegas Culinary Workers Union tried to halt the casino operators IPO questioning Deutsche as suitable investor following its involvement in the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) scandal.
At present, the majority shareholders of Red Rock are Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, who recently sold the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for more than $4 billion.
US business news sources have stated that Deutsche Bank will make a profit on the sale of its Red Rock asset.
