CNGR- announces casino expansion into El Salvador-
(BSNS WIRE) Crown Group, Inc. to Open Casinos in El Salvador
Crown Group, Inc. to Open Casinos in El Salvador
Business Editors
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 16, 1999--Crown Group, Inc.
(Nasdaq:CNGR) today announced that it has formed a new subsidiary, CG
Incorporated S.A. de CV, to develop and operate casinos in El
Salvador.
The subsidiary will be owned 50.1% by Crown and 49.9% by a
corporation controlled by its local partner in El Salvador, J. T. S.A.
de CV. Crown will initially invest $1,650,000 in the new subsidiary,
which will comprise a $328,000 equity investment and a loan of
$1,322,000. The Company's loan will be repaid before any distributions
to the shareholders of the subsidiary.
The first casino, Casino Colonial, will be opened in the city of
Antiquo Cuscatlan, which is part of the metropolitan area which
includes San Salvador. The population of the metropolitan San
Salvador, the capital of El Salvador, approximates two million
persons. Casino Colonial, to be located in a building which previously
contained a theater and is currently under renovation, is expected to
open in May 1999. Its gaming activities will include more than 180
slot and video poker machines and twelve table games. Crown management
anticipates the opening of several more casinos in the nation of El
Salvador.
"This expansion of our international gaming activities is
consistent with Crown's decision to invest in two casinos in Argentina
in June 1998," stated Edward R. McMurphy, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Crown Group, Inc. "The casinos in Argentina have
outperformed our initial expectations, and we believe that El Salvador
has the potential to provide an even better return on investment than
we have achieved in Argentina."
"El Salvador offers a stable political and economic environment,
and while there are obvious risks in any foreign country that do not
exist in the United States, the profit potential of this investment is
substantially greater than we could achieve in the domestic gaming
industry," concluded McMurphy.
Crown Group, Inc. is a publicly traded buy-out firm which seeks
to enhance shareholder value through the acquisition, development and
operation of small-cap companies with significant growth potential.
Crown Group currently owns (i) 80% of Paaco Automotive Group, a
vertically integrated used car sales and finance company; (ii) 100% of
Precision IBC, a firm specializing in the sale and rental of
intermediate bulk containers; (iii) 80% of Concorde Acceptance
Corporation, a sub-prime mortgage lender; (iv) 49% of Casino Magic
Neuquen, a casino operator in the Province of Neuquen, Argentina; and
(v) 80% of Home Stay Lodges, a partnership which is involved in the
development and operation of extended-stay lodging facilities.
Crown Group, Inc. is headquartered in Dallas and its common stock
is traded on Nasdaq under the symbol "CNGR".
This press release includes statements that may constitute
"forward-looking" statements, usually containing the words "believe,"
"estimate," "project," "expect," or similar expressions. These
statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking
statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences
include, but are not limited to, changing economic conditions, changes
in interest rates, continued acceptance of the Company's products and
services in the marketplace, competitive factors, dependence upon
lenders, and other risks detailed in the Company's periodic filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission. By making these
forward-looking statements, the Company undertakes no obligation to
update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of
this release.
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