Purchaser of Reno Hilton turns away a takeover offer

Grand Sierra Resorts Corp., the company planning to purchase the Reno Hilton, rebuffed a takeover offer.

The company's board said that DTLL Inc. failed to show that it had the money to finance a merger and failed to answer questions from Grand Sierra Resorts.

Grand Sierra's board of directors "affirmed that the company is not for sale, and that it has not sought and has no plans to seek the sale of the company as it proceeds with its plans to acquire the Reno Hilton," the company's legal counsel said in a prepared statement.

But DTLL has contended that it holds options that might give it control of Grand Sierra Resorts anyhow.

Last month, the company based at Minneapolis said it struck a deal to acquire Angela Whichard Inc. of Raleigh, N.C.

The North Carolina company, DTLL, said it owns a 40 percent stake in Grand Sierra Resorts and holds enough options to give it a 50.6 percent interest in Grand Resorts.

A lawyer for Grand Sierra Resorts didn't want to comment last week about the Angela Whichard Inc. transaction, noting that it doesn't directly involve Grand Sierra.

A spokesman for DTLL didn't respond to telephone and e-mail requests to provide more detail.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission at the end of March, publicly held DTLL acknowledged it didn't record any revenues during 2005 or the last seven months of 2004.

It said, however, it believes it has the financing in place to buy the Tahoe Inn, a hotel in Brockway, Calif., for $6 million.

The company is headed by Dual Cooper, a hotel and gaming executive who began his career at Lake Tahoe.

Grand Sierra Resorts is moving toward closing of its purchase of the Reno Hilton from Harrah's Entertainment. It plans to add an indoor water park and undertake a major renovation of the hotel and 100 acres of property.

Thomas Schrade, the president and chief executive officer of Grand?Sierra, previously led the company that developed the Grand Casino at Tunica, Miss.