On March 13, RBR+TVBR was first to report that a “put notice” was delivered to MGM National Harbor LLC that required it to purchase 100% of Urban One’s interest in the property.
That acquisition is now complete, making the multimedia company a former stakeholder in the suburban Washington, D.C., casino resort as it takes a second stab at wooing Richmond, Va., voters in getting the OK to build its own gaming facility in the city.
Radio One Entertainment Holdings LLC on Friday (4/21) closed on the sale of 100% of its interest in MGM National Harbor. Urban One made the news public on Wednesday, via a SEC filing.
Urban One received approximately $136.8 million.
Talk about a big profit from its initial investment. On December 13, 2016, Urban One, founded by Cathy Hughes and led by her son, CEO Alfred Liggins III, completed a $40 million investment in MGM National Harbor LLC through Radio One Entertainment Holdings LLC. This came following approval from the Maryland lottery and gaming commission.
The casino had opened to the public one week earlier.
During Q1 2023, the company received $8.7 million representing its annual distribution from MGMNH with respect to fiscal year 2022.
With the sale of its MGM National Harbor interest, Urban One can now devote its entire casino gaming attention to a renewed effort to get the ONE Casino + Resort approved by City of Richmond voters. On February 16, the Virginia State Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee rejected a House of Delegates bill that would have placed a casino referendum on Petersburg ballots in November.
Importantly, the proposal sent to the upper body of the Virginia state legislature would have squashed a second voter referendum for City of Richmond ballot holders on a casino within city limits — something in the works for the November 2023 municipal elections.
