NAFOA presented the 2023 Business Impact Deal of the Year to The Jamul Indian Village of California for refinancing debt related to the construction of their casino, owned and operated by Jamul Indian Village Development Corporation (JIVDC). With Western Alliance as lead arranger, JIVDC reduced its interest rate burden by over $30 million annually. Western Alliance and its lender group (Nevada State Bank, Columbia Bank, and CIT) were able to refinance $130 million of the roughly $400 million in outstanding debt, and Sculptor (existing lender) was willing to become a subordinated lender for the remaining $270 million of debt (Jamul Casino Refinancing Transaction). The initial Jamul Casino Refinancing Transaction closed in January 2021. By June 2021, due to the performance of the Jamul Casino, JIVDC was able to exercise its option to increase the loan from $130 million to $200 million. This increase enabled the JIVDC to move the high-interest debt over to low-interest debt and improve cash flow. In February 2022, the JIVDC was able to refinance with the existing lender group along with the addition of U.S. Bank and KeyBank to refinance the entire debt related to the casino and take out all of the high-interest debt and move the entire loan to a conventional, low-interest rate structure. This structure of this deal will be pivotal for tribal leaders looking to refinance their projects in the future.
About Jamul Casino
Opened in 2016, the Jamul Casino is located in Jamul, California, San Diego County, and is owned and operated by Jamul Indian Village Development Corporation (JIVDC), a wholly owned enterprise of the Tribe. The $430 million, award-winning casino features nearly 1,700 slot machines, 46 live table games, a dedicated poker room, and various restaurants, bars and lounges. Jamul Casino supports more than 1,000 permanent jobs in the region and is the closest casino to downtown San Diego, which is the eighth-largest city in the United States by population. For more information about Jamul Casino, please visit www.jamulcasinosd.com.