Skadden helped Penn National Gaming Inc. split its hand. Through a series of transactions, Penn spun off its real property assets into REIT, Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. The deal, led by Los Angeles partners David Reamer and Michele Gasaway, was the first-ever tax-free spinoff of a property company REIT from a taxable C corporation, and it created the first gaming-oriented REIT. To close the transaction, GLPI obtained more than $3 billion in debt financing, while Penn secured $1.55 billion through a credit facility and the sale of unsecured notes to retire existing debt and fund operations. As part of the deal, Penn agreed to lease back the properties where it operates its gaming facilities.
A Skadden team led by L.A. and Palo Alto partner Gregg Noel and Palo Alto partner Thomas Ivey represented beleaguered retailer J.C. Penney Co. on several capital markets transactions in 2013. These include a five-year, $2.25 billion senior secured term loan credit facility, an $810 million common stock offering and the $492 million resale of 39 million shares of its common stock. The stockholder offering involved the coordinated sale by J.C. Penney’s largest stockholder of its entire position.
