Sonco big winner in N.B. casino project

Sonco Gaming New Brunswick Ltd. has won the jackpot in the bid to build the province's first casino.

Finance Minister Victor  Boudreau announced Thursday that the Sonco partnership is the preferred proponent for the project.

The partnership includes:

• Sonco, a Maritime-based real-estate and casino development company.
• Clairvest Group Inc., a publicly traded merchant bank, private equity investment fund.
• Navegante Group Inc., a U.S.-based casino operator.
• 2050631 Ontario Inc., comprising investment companies and shareholders.

Boudreau said the facilitiy will be built in the vicinity of the Magnetic Hill tourist site in Moncton and will include a 128-room hotel, entertainment centre and convention space.

The project is expected to cost $90 million to construct with completion expected by December 2010.

"The preferred proponent has put forth an exciting project which will be a great attraction for the Moncton region and for New Brunswick as a whole," Boudreau said.

Boudreau said he won't be able to release other details about the project until a service provider agreement is signed with the company.

Four proponents submitted a bid to construct and operate the casino and, to avoid any appearance of political interference, a number of committees were formed to make the decision for the Liberal government.

The proposals were evaluated by five teams, which included financial consultants from KPMG, industry experts HLT Advisory Inc. and government officials.

KPMG also acted as the fairness monitor throughout the process.

Many factors considered

The evaluation process considered the completeness of the bids, the proponents' experience, financial capacity, the business case and the economic benefits that would be generated by the complex, Boudreau said.

Sonco had the highest score in the process, Boudreau said.

"This is the project that provided the overall best economic benefit, the overall best feasibility for the province," Boudreau said.

The construction process is expected to create the equivalent of about 770 full-time jobs. The facility will employ about 400 people when it is opened, the minister said.

The government will not provide any funding for the construction of the casino, and Sonco will be responsible for all costs related to designing, building, financing and equipping the facility.

The government expects to receive about $25 million in revenue annually from the casino.