WORLD PROPERTY CHANNEL ®

(NORTH MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA) -- It's 10-to-one you haven't heard of Delaware North Cos. but you most certainly know of the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League.

Jeremy M. Jacobs

Jeremy M. Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Buffalo, NY-based Delaware North Cos., owns the Bruins and also chairs the NHL Board of Governors.

His three sons work with him in all of the company's operations. They are Jerry Jr., Lou and Charlie.

Delaware North is a 95-year-old,  $2 billion global conglomerate that owns luxury resorts, entertainment assets, retail properties, sports facilities management, gaming and racetrack operations. It has 50,000 associates worldwide.

The privately-owned company has just acquired five more Australian resorts but didn't disclose the acquisition price.

The properties in North Melbourne now operate under The GPT Group, parent company of Voyages Hotels and Resorts, but are soon to be branded Delaware North Companies Australia, They are:.

• El Questro Wilderness Park & Homestead, The Kimberley, Western Australia

• Lizard Island Resort, Queensland

• Heron Island Resort, Queensland

• Wilson Island Resort, Queensland

• Kings Canyon Resort, Northern Territory.

Sometimes anonymously, Delaware North is also associated with landmark global properties such as Wembley Stadium in London, TD Garden in Boston, the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Niagara Falls.

Subsidiary DNC Parks & Resorts owns five U.S. resort properties in well-known locations: Gideon Putnam Resort in Saratoga Springs, New York; Holiday Inn West Yellowstone, Montana; Tenaya Resort at Yosemite National Park, California; Wuksachi Lodge at Sequoia National Park, California, and The Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake, Geneva State Park, Ohio.

In British Columbia, Canada, Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa bears the DNC brand.

Jeremy Jacobs says the 21-month-old global financial crisis hasn't impacted the methodical, long-term strategic plan of Delaware North.

Delaware North started the Aussie  acquisition process in September 2008. The five  properties had been on the market for more than 12 months and "the balance was just right, buying during the downturn and not at the prices of five or six years ago," says Maria Kucherhan, executive director of marketing and strategic growth for the subsidiary, Delaware North Companies International, which includes Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

The company has a 20-year history Down Under, with operations at major airports in Australia and New Zealand at Sydney's Circular Quay  and Central Railway Station and Melbourne's Southern Cross Station. Entertainment and sports venues include Melbourne Park and Etihad Stadium.  

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