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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported) December 21, 2000
MAGNA ENTERTAINMENT CORP.
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(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
Delaware, United States of America
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(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)
000-30578 98-0208374
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(Commission File Number) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
337 Magna Drive, Aurora, Ontario, Canada L4G 7K1
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(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
(905) 726-2462
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(Registrant's Telephone Number, Including Area Code)
2001 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 400, Santa Monica, California, USA 90403
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(Former Address, if changed Since Last Report)
ITEM 6. OTHER EVENTS
On December 21, 2000, the Registrant issued a press release in which the
Registrant announced that it had entered into an agreement with Ladbroke Racing
Corp. and one of its subsidiaries to acquire Ladbroke's account wagering
operations, The Meadows harness track, four off-track betting facilities located
in Pennsylvania and an interest in The Racing Network for a purchase price of
US$53 million. Under the terms of the agreement, one-half of the purchase price
is payable in cash, one-quarter is payable in Class A Subordinate Voting Stock
of the Registrant and one-quarter is payable by way of a promissory note to be
issued by the Registrant maturing over two years from the date of closing.
Subject to receipt of regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close
in the first quarter of 2001.
ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS
Exhibit 1 Copy of Registrant's press release dated December 21, 2000 is attached
as Exhibit 1.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
MAGNA ENTERTAINMENT CORP.
(Registrant)
Date: December 21, 2000 by: /s/ Gary M. Cohn
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Gary M. Cohn, Secretary
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EXHIBIT 1
MAGNA ENTERTAINMENT CORP.
337 Magna Drive
Aurora, Ontario L4G 7K1
Tel: (905) 726-2462
Fax: (905) 726-7173
PRESS RELEASE
MAGNA ENTERTAINMENT CORP. SIGNS AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE
ACCOUNT WAGERING OPERATIONS
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December 21, 2000, Aurora, Ontario, Canada......Magna Entertainment Corp.
("MEC") (NASDAQ: MIEC; TSE: MIE.A, MEH) today announced that it has entered into
an agreement with Ladbroke Racing Corp. and one of its subsidiaries to acquire
Ladbroke's account wagering operations, The Meadows harness track, four
off-track betting facilities and an interest in The Racing Network for a
purchase price of US$53 million. Under the terms of the agreement, one-half of
the purchase price is payable in cash, one-quarter is payable in Class A
Subordinate Voting Stock of MEC and one-quarter is payable by way of an MEC
promissory note maturing over two years from the date of closing. Subject to
receipt of regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close in the
first quarter of 2001.
The account wagering operations, operated under the name "Call-A-Bet", are based
in Pennsylvania. The Meadows harness track and the four off-track betting
facilities are also located in Pennsylvania.
Frank Stronach, President and Chief Executive Officer of MEC, stated: "The
acquisition of the Call-A-Bet account wagering system, together with Ladbroke's
other Pennsylvania horse racing operations, is an important step in MEC's
strategic plan of building the premier account wagering business in the country.
By acquiring the existing Call-A-Bet system, which already has a profitable
operating history, MEC will significantly advance its electronic media strategy
and realize an immediate improvement in its earnings per share."
Magna Entertainment Corp., one of the largest operators of premier horse
racetracks in the United States, acquires, develops and operates horse
racetracks and related pari-mutuel wagering operations. These racetracks, which
include Santa Anita Park, Golden Gate Fields and Bay Meadows Racecourse in
California, Gulfstream Park in Florida, Remington Park in Oklahoma, Thistledown
in Ohio and Great Lakes Downs in Michigan, accounted for approximately 26% of
the amounts wagered on pari-mutuel racing in the United States in 1999. Magna
Entertainment Corp. is also developing horse racing and sports products for
multi-media distribution via interactive cable, satellite, broadcast television,
and the Internet, as well as certain leisure and retail-based real estate
projects. (www.magnaentertainment.com)
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This press release contains various "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act"). The
Act provides certain "safe harbor" provisions for forward-looking statements.
All forward-looking statements made in this press release are made pursuant to
the Act. The reader is cautioned that these statements represent our judgment
concerning the future and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could
cause our actual operating results and financial condition to differ materially.
Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the use of terms such as
"may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," and similar words, although
some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. Although we believe
that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are
reasonable we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be
correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from our expectations include, but are not limited to: the impact of competition
from operators of other racetracks and from other forms of gaming (including
from Internet and on-line wagering); a substantial change in law or regulations
affecting our gaming activities; a substantial change in allocation of live
racing days; our continued ability to effectively compete for the country's top
horses and trainers necessary to field high-quality horse racing; our continued
ability to complete expansion projects designed to generate new revenues and
attract new patrons; our ability to sell some of our real estate when we need to
or at a price we want; the impact of inclement weather; and our ability to
integrate recent racetrack acquisitions.
For more information contact:
Graham Orr
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
Magna Entertainment Corp.
337 Magna Drive
Aurora, Ontario L4G 7K1
Tel: (905) 726-7099
