Crown delays demerger plan
James Packer’s Crown Resorts remains committed to the multi-billion-dollar break-up of its gaming empire, but the transaction is expected to take longer than the initial nine-month timeframe given to the market in June by its chief executive Rowen Craigie.
Investors said the delay was not unexpected given Crown was still managing the fallout from the arrest last month of 18 of its employees by Chinese authorities.
Only one of the 18 in China has since being released and Crown’s international VIP boss Jason O’Connor and two Australian colleagues remain in custody after last week being formally arrested for so-called “gambling crimes’’. None of those arrested has been charged.
Ironically, the Crown arrests have been a fillip for the share price of the Nasdaq-listed Melco Crown Entertainment, which has casinos in Macau and The Philippines
Its shares have risen from $US16 in mid-October to over the $US19 mark. Macau’s gaming revenues for November will be released later this week.
Under the demerger plan, Crown will spin off its interests in Melco Crown and its partly owned offshore assets into a separate listed vehicle.
The international assets to be demerged in addition to Melco will be Crown’s investment in the Alon development site in Las Vegas, its 20 per cent holding in restaurant chain Nobu, its 50 per cent holding in British gaming group Aspers and its investment in US gaming group Caesars.
Crown will continue to own and operate the Crown Aspinall’s casino in London
Crown is exploring an initial public offer of a 49 per cent interest in a property trust that would own Crown Resorts’ Australian hotels excluding Crown Towers Melbourne, with Crown Resorts retaining a 51 per cent interest.
Meanwhile, the company received a boost this week with news that Victorian gaming machine expenditure increased by 2.1 per cent last month.
