Banking conglomerate UBS Group AG has been increasing in recent days its exposure to Australia-listed casino gaming stocks via several stock acquisitions.
On July 14, UBS became a substantial shareholder of slot machine maker Aristocrat Leisure Ltd, the latter firm confirmed in a Tuesday filing to the Australian Securities Exchange. UBS currently owns around 32.8 million shares in Aristocrat Leisure, which amounts to 5.13 percent of the total shares.
UBS already had become a substantial shareholder in Asian casino operator and developer Silver Heritage Group Ltd on July 10. The institution increased its stake in Silver Heritage from 44.2 million shares to 48.3 million on July 17, boosting its voting power to 11.92 percent, said Silver Heritage in a Wednesday filing.
Silver Heritage currently runs casinos in Vietnam and Nepal. The firm is presently developing its first purpose-built, self-managed casino resort in Nepal – the Tiger Palace Resort Bhairahawa – near the country’s border with India.
Earlier this month, UBS also became – temporarily – a substantial shareholder of The Star Entertainment Group Ltd. A filing by Star Entertainment on July 18 stated that UBS had a stake of 6.48 percent in the casino firm. That was connected with the provision of services by UBS to casino cruise ship operator Genting Hong Kong Ltd, as the latter decided to sell its entire stake in Star Entertainment via a block trade.
A Thursday filing by Star Entertainment confirmed UBS was no longer a substantial shareholder of the casino firm.
Star Entertainment owns and operates The Star Sydney casino hotel in Sydney, as well as the Jupiters Gold Coast and the Treasury casino in Queensland’s state capital, Brisbane. In October, the firm was formally granted a casino licence for Queen’s Wharf Brisbane.
