[toc]The deal to put the former Trump Taj Mahal under the corporate umbrella of Hard Rock International is now officially done.
That’s according to The Associated Press, which reported that the deal for the shuttered Atlantic City resort closed on Friday. A press conference is scheduled for this week, the AP’s Wayne Parry relayed.
Hard Rock officially coming to AC
The finalization of the deal completes a process that started just about a month ago, when Hard Rock announced that it would be acquiring the Taj Mahal from billionaire Carl Icahn.
We don’t know much more than we did previously, other than the sale is complete.
More from the AP:
Hard Rock plans a press conference Wednesday to unveil its plans for the casino, which it wants to reopen next spring. The purchase price has not been revealed, but CEO James Allen has said the purchase and extensive renovations will together cost about $300 million.
The sale going through means work can now begin on reopening the iconic AC property.
A quick turnaround for the Taj
Things happened quickly for the Taj Mahal, going from closed, to open, to sold:
- A labor dispute and strike in the summer of 2016 led to Icahn threatening to close the resort.
- The Taj closed in October after a deal on the labor impasse could not be brokered.
- Rumors that Icahn was looking to reopen Taj without union labor or sell the property cropped up. The latter proved to be true when Icahn announced his intent to offload the property.
- Hard Rock and Icahn Enterprises announced the sale in early March.
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What’s next for Hard Rock AC?
It seems pretty clear the Taj is going to get a major facelift over the course of the next year, in order to bring it more in line with other Hard Rock properties.
We should learn more about Hard Rock’s plans on Wednesday during the press conference, perhaps even seeing a rendering of what the new resort will look like.
Otherwise, there’s a lot of work that needs to happen between now and the spring of 2018, when the Hard Rock AC hypothetically opens for business.
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