Global law firm Proskauer represented The Light Group and its founders in The Light Group’s agreement to be acquired by The Yucaipa Companies, LLC, from the Morgans Hotel Group Company.
Under the terms of the agreement, Yucaipa, which is Morgans’ primary debtholder, will take ownership of The Light Group in exchange for the cancellation of $230 million in Morgans securities, including convertible notes, preferred stock and stock warrants, held by Yucaipa. Morgans will also receive $6.5 million in cash for its leasehold interests in three restaurants at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas that will be run by The Light Group. Morgans purchased a 90 percent interest in The Light Group in 2011 for $46.5 million.
Based in Las Vegas, The Light Group is one of the country’s leading hospitality development and management companies. It manages and operates several food and beverage properties at AAA Five Diamond Bellagio Resort & Casino, The Mirage Hotel & Casino, Monte Carlo Resort & Casino and Aria Resort & Casino in CityCenter.
The Yucaipa Companies, LLC, founded in 1986 by Ron Burkle, is a private equity and venture capital firm specializing in turnaround investments, utilizing strategic repositioning and operational improvements to create value for investors.
The deal is the second transaction in Las Vegas handled by Proskauer’s Lodging & Gaming Group in as many weeks, following close on the heels of the firm’s representation of the Gansevoort Hotel Group in its agreement with Caesars Entertainment Corporation to open a new Gansevoort hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.
Leading The Light Group deal were Corporate Partner Jeffrey Horwitz, head of the firm’s Lodging & Gaming and Private Equity Real Estate groups, and Corporate Associate Mina Farbood.
