Florida's Native American Seminole tribe has bought the Hard Rock caf?? and casino business.
For a sweet US$965 million, the tribe has acquired all the assets of the Hard Rock franchise. This includes 124 Hard Rock cafes around the globe, four hotels, two casinos and two Hard Rock Live! venues. Included into the bargain is an imposing collection of rock memorabilia that defines the Hard Rock brand. This includes guitars once owned by Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry and Eric Clapton, as well as Elton John's high heels and an iconic pointy bustier once filled out by Madonna.The tribe makes 90% of its income from the Seminole Gaming section and Reuters reports that the sellers, Rank Group, are divesting themselves of the Hard Rock brand to focus solely on casinos. They have already sold off their holiday camps, cinemas and film studios.
Tribal Council Chairman Mitchell Cypress said in a statement, "This is a proud moment for the Seminole Tribe to diversify its business operations and help a very successful company to achieve even greater growth." Reports suggest the tribe plan to extend the cafes and hotels to new cities and focus on the casino element of the Hard Rock brand.
