BILOXI - An investment group headed by Roy Anderson III and W.C. "Cotton" Fore has entered into an agreement to purchase the President Casino Broadwater Resort for $66 million.
The property includes 240 acres, a casino, a hotel and a marina. The Broadwater has been a tourist destination for more than six decades. Anderson and Fore's group, Broadwater Properties LLC, uses the landmark name that predates the St. Louis-based President Casinos Inc. acquisition.
"The name speaks for itself," said Anderson. "I was born and raised on the Coast. I think it's a pinnacle piece of property here on the Coast. It deserves a lot of attention to bring it back to its highest and best use."
The proposed agreement, announced late Tuesday afternoon, was approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. President Casinos filed for bankruptcy in 2002.
The people employed at the casino resort should not expect any immediate changes because the agreement is not a done deal. The company said in a press release it anticipates operations to continue in Biloxi with the new owners.
But Broadwater Properties could still be outbid by third parties at an auction scheduled for Dec. 16 in St. Louis.
"This is just a first step," Anderson said.
If the group is successful, it plans to bring in a master planner to map out the best use of the properties. Anderson, Fore and others have been working on the purchase agreement since February. Fore said the agreement comes after a lot of hard work.
"We're natives; we know the area," Fore said. "We feel like we can do more for the property than a person from another state or another city. We feel like the benefits of being local will benefit the city of Biloxi."
Anderson is chairman, president and CEO of Roy Anderson Corp. and an owner in another casino venture, Premier Entertainment, which is building the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Biloxi. Fore is the owner of W.C. Fore Trucking, a subdivision developer and a real estate investor.
The partners in the venture have not decided whether they want to keep the golf course or use it for some other purpose.
Innovation Capital Holding assisted with the agreement.
"There is a tremendous amount of value in the underlying property here," said Matt Sodl, managing director of Innovation Capital. "You just look up and down the Coast in terms of how people are perceiving the Gulf Coast as a mecca for new hospitality and lifestyle developments."
The proposed purchase price for Biloxi is $9 million more than President Casinos agreed to sell its St. Louis property for last month in another bankruptcy proceeding. The Biloxi price could go higher yet in the public bidding.
"Biloxi represents a much more encompassing development opportunity," Sodl said.