LAS VEGAS-Publicly held Station Casinos Inc. is expected to be taken private early this week by Fertitta Colony Partners LLC, a joint venture of the Fertitta family that started the company and Los Angeles-based Colony Capital, which owns the Las Vegas Hilton. The $8.9-billion transaction–the largest ever private-equity buyout of a Nevada gaming company–calls for the JV to acquire $5.4 billion of stock and assume $3.4 billion in debt.

Station Casinos owns and operates a dozen casinos serving mostly locals in the Las Vegas Valley, including the Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa. Under the terms of the buyout, holders of Station common stock will receive $90 per share in cash for each outstanding share and the company's stock will immediately be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. On Friday shares traded at about 25% of average volume and ended the day at $89.83.

Fertitta Colony Partners is controlled by Station Casinos chairman/chief executive Frank Fertitta III, vice-chairman/president Lorenzo Fertitta and Colony Capital founder/chairman/chief executive Tom Barrack. The Fertitta brothers will continue handling the day-to-day operations of the company. The Fertittas, their sister Delise (Sartini) and her husband Blake, and Colony Capital have provided equity funding commitments for the stock purchase while affiliates of Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase Bank have provided debt financing commitments.