Land & Buildings Dumps Caesars, VICI Stakes

Posted on: May 17, 2022, 04:00h. 

Last updated on: May 17, 2022, 10:35h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Jonathan Litt’s Land & Buildings Investment Management, LLC (L&B) eliminated its gaming equity exposure in the first quarter, dumping stakes in Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) and VICI Properties (NYSE:VICI).

Land & Buildings
Land & Buildings founder Jonathan Litt. His firm dumped positions in Caesars and VICI Properties in the first quarter. (Image: Stamford Advocate)

The investment firm’s first-quarter 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicates it no longer holds shares of the Flamingo operator, the casino landlord, or any other dedicated gaming company.

Litt’s firm maintains a position in private equity giant Blackstone (NYSE:BX), which owns the property assets of Bellagio on the Las Vegas Strip, as well as a minority stake in the real estate of Mandalay Bay and MGM Grand. That stake was valued at nearly $11 million at the end of the first quarter.

Caesars and VICI were two of three positions L&B dropped in the first quarter. The other was Americold Realty (NYSE:COLD),which is an Atlanta-based operator of temperature-controlled warehouses.

Gaming REIT Consolidation Worked Out for L&B

L&B restarted a position in MGM Growth Properties (NYSE:MGP) in the first quarter of 2021. That paid off, because last August, VICI offered to acquire MGP for $17.2 billion in stock. That transaction closed about three years ago.

The activist investor reduced its position in VICI, which is now the largest landlord on the Strip, in the first quarter of 2021. Litt took a stake in MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) in 2015 and pushed the casino giant to the spin-off of MGP.

L&B has more history with gaming real estate investment trusts (REITs). In 2020 Litt pushed Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) — the other publicly traded gaming REIT — to merge with VICI. That deal didn’t come to fruition, and L&B ultimately liquidated its position in GLPI.

Brief Encounter with Caesars

L&B had a brief encounter with Caesars, purchasing the stock in the fourth quarter, only to part ways with it sometime between January and March. The firm likely took a loss on that position, because Caesars, along with other gaming equities, tumbled in the first three months of the year.

L&B has had similar quarter-to-quarter encounters with Caesars shares. It bought the casino stock in the fourth quarter of 2020, only to liquidate that position in the March quarter of 2021.

Litt’s investment house initiated a position in Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) in the first three months of 2021. But that stake was eliminated before the end of the year.

L&B’s latest 13F doesn’t indicate why the firm sold Caesars and VICI. But given the money manager’s history with gaming equities, it wouldn’t be surprising if it reenters casino investing over the near- to medium-term.