LV's On Stage going country

On Stage Entertainment Inc. of Las Vegas said today it agreed to buy Country Tonite Enterprises Inc. of Las Vegas and CRC of Branson Inc. of Branson, Mo., for $13.8 million. The seller is Casino Resource Corp. of Biloxi, Miss.

The deal includes the assets and property of the Country Tonite Show in Branson and a one-year contract to produce the Country Tonite Show in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

On Stage plans to fund the purchase using $6 million of its mortgage-financing facility, $6.5 million by privately placing equity and $1.3 million by issuing a two-year, 9.5-percent note to the seller.

Casino Resource, meantime, said it's entering a $27 million joint venture to build a spring water bottling plant in Bentonville, Ark., with hopes of selling bottled water to Wal-Mart, which is headquartered there, and other national retailers.

Casino Resource said it already operates a casino and theatre in Tunisia and is developing Indian gaming properties with Harrah's Entertainment.

The Country Tonite assets to be purchased by On Stage produced revenue of $10.7 million in the year ended Sept. 30, 1997, along with earnings of $3.9 million before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and management fees charged by Casino Resource Corp.

The Country Tonite Show was named the Country Music Association of America's best live country show in 1993, 1994 and 1995.

"By adding to our existing presence in the popular and rapidly growing Branson market we are pursuing our strategy to cluster live productions in key tourist destinations," said On Stage President David Hope. "We see excellent prospects for rolling out subsequent productions of Country Tonite in new markets where we already operate.

"The acquisition is a further step in our ongoing effort to consolidate the highly fragmented middle market live theater and dinner theater industries," Hope said.

On Stage already has 13 stage shows running worldwide, including Legends in Concert shows, dinner shows and variety shows.

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