May 09, 2017 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Philippines, Top of the deck, World  
Australian casino developer Crown Resorts Ltd plans to use the proceeds from selling its remaining stake in Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd to reduce the company’s debt. The announcement was made on Tuesday in a filing to the Australian Securities Exchange.
“Crown Resorts is expected to generate net proceeds of approximately US$987 million or AUD1.34 billion (equivalent to US$5.97 per Melco Resorts ordinary share and US$17.91 per Melco Resorts American depository share) which will initially be used to reduce Crown Resorts’ net debt,” the firm stated.
Crown Resorts’ net debt position at the end of 2016 was AUD1.77 billion, excluding working capital cash of AUD166.9 million. It consisted of total debt of AUD2.26 billion and cash of AUD492.1 million, according to the firm’s latest financial report.
Crown Resorts’ disposal of its remaining stake in Melco Resorts was announced on Monday. Nasdaq-listed Melco Resorts owns and operates casino properties in Macau and in the Philippines.
Melco Resorts was originally established in 2004 as a joint venture between Hong Kong-listed Melco International Development Ltd and a firm that eventually became Crown Resorts. The venture’s name changed from its former moniker Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd last April, following a series of sell downs by Crown Resorts.
At the start of May 2016, Crown Resorts – alongside Melco International, controlled by casino entrepreneur Lawrence Ho Yau Lung – each held a stake of 34.3 percent in the joint venture. But in early May 2016, Crown Resorts, controlled by James Packer (pictured), said it was cutting its holding in the firm to 27.4 percent. Further sell downs by Crown Resorts occurred in December, ultimately reducing its holding to 11.2 percent.
In its Tuesday release, Crown Resorts made no reference to why it decided fully to dispose of its stake in Melco Resorts. The deal involves Melco Resorts repurchasing Crown Resorts’ remaining shareholding in the firm, using the proceeds from an offering – backed by several investment banks – of American depository shares and ordinary shares.
In a separate filing – to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange – Melco International said the overall operation “intended to ensure an orderly disposal” of Crown Resorts’ remaining interest in Melco Resorts and to “eliminate or minimise any potential negative impact” that might otherwise be caused by an on-market disposal.
Jun 07, 2023
May 30, 2023
Jun 08, 2023
Jun 08, 2023
Jun 08, 2023
Gaming content and equipment maker Konami says it is responding to the Asia-Pacific casino industry’s fresh engagement with consumers post- Covid-19, by introducing certain slot machine product...Jun 08, 2023
Gaming content and equipment maker Konami says it is...Jun 07, 2023
Casino gaming content and hardware provider Light &...Jun 06, 2023
Electronic table games (ETGs) supplier Interblock dd is...Jun 05, 2023
Random number generator (RNG) testing tools are among the...Jun 01, 2023
Alfastreet, a manufacturer of electronic gaming machines,...Jun 01, 2023
Casino equipment maker Sega Sammy Creation Inc is tweaking...Jun 01, 2023
The iGaming segment in Asia “has grown rapidly” since...May 31, 2023
Showing slot machine players – via animations on the...May 31, 2023
Macau stocks in likelihood “have been punished too much...May 31, 2023
There are foreign companies still interested in investing...May 31, 2023
Thailand could pass the necessary enabling legislation for...May 30, 2023
China will remain a key market for Asian gaming...May 30, 2023
Alejandro Tengco (pictured in a file photo), chairman and...May 30, 2023
There are “plenty of reasons” for the global gaming...May 30, 2023
Gaming equipment provider International Game Technology Plc...May 30, 2023
The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2023 Special Edition:...May 29, 2023
Austria-based gaming equipment maker and operator Novomatic...May 25, 2023
Sports betting and online casino operating platform...May 24, 2023
The business performance in Asia of gaming content and...May 18, 2023
The organisers of Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2023...May 17, 2023
Gaming content and equipment supplier Light & Wonder...May 16, 2023
Casino equipment maker Sega Sammy Creation Inc is to...May 09, 2023
Casino slot machine and digital gaming content provider...May 05, 2023
The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia event in Singapore is the...May 04, 2023
An adviser to a Thailand parliamentary committee mulling...(Click here for more)
”We’ve said we want to grow EBITDA ... to US$1.4 billion in 2025. And we have a really high level of conviction about getting there”
Matt Wilson
Chief executive of casino equipment provider Light & Wonder