The owner of Upstate New York’s biggest casino has agreed to a takeover by its largest investor, rather than filing bankruptcy in the face of continuing losses and debts, NewYorkUpstate.com reported. Empire Resorts, owner of Resorts World Catskills in the town of Thompson near Monticello, N.Y., said that it has agreed to sell all outstanding shares of its stock to the Malaysian investors who already own 86 percent of the company. Publicly traded Empire Resorts, which also owns the nearby Monticello Raceway harness track, had reported in a recent filing to the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission that it lost $73 million in the first six months of this year and has accumulated $400 million in debts. In the filing, Empire Resorts said it was considering chapter 11 bankruptcy. It also reported a buyout offer this summer from Kien Huat, the investor arm of Malaysian casino magnate J. T. Lim and his global gaming company Genting. On Monday, Empire Resorts announced it would sell outstanding common stock for $9.74 per share to the Kien Huat/Genting group. That was about 15 percent above the share price on Friday, the last day before the sale was announced, according to a report at Yogonet, a gaming industry news site.
