Crown cuts stake in Macau

SYDNEY  Casino mogul James Packer’s Crown Resorts has offloaded part of its stake in Macau-focused Melco Crown Entertainment for USD800 million, as gaming revenue slumps in the Chinese territory.

Melco repurchased 155 million shares at USD5.17 each from a Crown subsidiary to lower the Packer company stake from 34.3% to 27.4%, the Australian-listed firm said in a statement late Wednesday.

“Crown intends to maintain a significant investment in Melco Crown Entertainment,” the company added.

(From L) Chief executive officer of Melco Crown Entertainment Lawrence Ho and his wife, US singer Mariah Carey and co-chairman of Melco Crown Entertainment James Packer, seen at the Studio City casino resort in Macau, in October 2015.

As part of the deal, billionaire Packer, who is engaged to pop diva Mariah Carey, will step down as co-chair of Melco and become deputy chair.

The Australian owns 53% of Crown but in December resigned from the firm’s day-to-day running to focus on projects in Australia and the United States.

Gambling revenue in Macau has been hit hard by China’s corruption crackdown, and fell 34.3% to a five-year low of 230.84 billion patacas (USD28.92 billion) in 2015, the second-straight year of declines.

Casino operators in the semi-autonomous Chinese city are trying to lure mass-market visitors to make up for the drop in high-roller gamblers who comprise the bulk of former Portuguese colony’s gaming income.

sourced:ttrweekly.com