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Blackstone offers Crown $6.2bn Lifeline
Blackstone Group has put forward a bid of $6.2bn to buy Australian casino operator Crown Resorts with the deal representing a huge markdown on the company’s value last year.
Blackstone Group has put forward a bid of $6.2bn to buy Australian casino operator Crown Resorts with the deal representing a huge markdown on the company’s value last year.
Blackstone already has a shareholding of 9.99 per cent in Crown which it acquired from Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited for $8.15 per share in April 2020.
Crown Resorts confirmed it had received an 'unsolicited, non-binding and indicative proposal from a company on behalf of funds managed and advised by Te Blackstone Group Inc. and its affiliates, to acquire all of the shares in Crown by way of a scheme of arrangement at an indicative price of A$11.85 cash per share.'
It said: "Te Crown Board has not yet formed a view on the merits of the proposal. It will now commence a process to assess the proposal, having regard to the value and terms of the Proposal and other considerations. It will also engage with relevant stakeholders including regulatory authorities. Crown shareholders do not need to take any action in relation to the
Proposal at this stage. Tere is no certainty that the proposal will result in a transaction."
Crown has appointed UBS as financial adviser and Allens as legal adviser in relation to the proposal.
Te indicative price of $11.85 cash per share represents a premium of 19 per cent to the volume-weighted average price of Crown shares since the release of its 1H FY21 results.
Te proposal is subject to a number of conditions, including due diligence; arranging debt finance; a unanimous Crown Board recommendation and a commitment from all Crown Directors to vote in favour of it.
Tere will also be a condition that Blackstone receives regulatory confirmation that a Blackstone-owned Crown is considered a suitable person to continue to own and operate the Sydney, Melbourne and Perth licences and other gaming-related approvals as required; and approval from Blackstone investment committees.
Cambodia Closures halve casino gaming tax revenue
Tax from Cambodia’s 193 licensed casinos dropped by over 50 per cent in 2020 from US$85m in 2019 to US$40m in 2020.
Cambodia's casinos were closed from April 2 2020 with some reopening in August and others in October. In November, Cambodia approved new legislation on the Management of Integrated Resorts and Commercial Gambling (LMCG), including flat tax on gross gaming revenues of four per cent for VIP gaming and seven per cent for mass gaming with Mr. Phearun expecting tax to improve in 2021.
Deputy Director of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ros Phearun, said to Te Phnom Penh Pos: “As we’re all too well aware,
the COVID-19 epidemic began in late 2019 and persists to this day. It has pulverised all economic sectors, and the casino industry has sustained a crippling blow as well.
“Practically all of our casinos ceased operation in 2020, with only just seven or eight left scrambling to keep their businesses afloat. Tat’s why our revenue collection has dropped so much. We expect tax collection from our casino industry to improve in 2021 thanks to our compliance with the recently- passed law,” he added. “We’ll collect in a transparent way, but as COVID-19 continues to spread and slash tourist arrivals, we dare not predict what the revenue from this sector will be.”
Japan
Te new casino age in Japan won't embrace online gaming at its launch, according to Hachiro Okonogi, Chairperson of the Liberal Democratic Party’s National Public Safety Commission. Mr. Okonogi said: “Tere are provisions in the existing IR Development Act, but it does not include online casinos and they are not subject to this regulation. Te reason online casinos are not subject to the ‘casino acts’ in the IR Development Act is because online casinos are illegal in the first place," he added. “Tere is precedent of online casinos being run in Japan, busted and tried in court. Continuing to come down on online casinos is the role of the police and Chairperson of the National Public Safety Commission.”
VIETNAM – Vietnam's Corona Resort and Casino, owned by Phu Quoc Tourism Investment and Development Company and currently the only place for Vietnamese nationals to gamble, will became part of the all-encompassing resort Phu Quoc United Center.
On April 21, 2021, Vingroup Group will officially open Phu Quoc United Center in the North of Pearl Island. With a scale of over 1,000 hectares and thousands of record entertainment items in addition to a 24/7 resort and shopping ecosystem, Phu Quoc United Center will be the first sleepless super complex in Vietnam, making Phu Quoc a "new international destination" in Asia.
With a total investment of over US$2.8bn, Phu Quoc United Center is developed under the 'all-in-one' model. It includes a system of hotel brands from Mini Hotel to five-star hotel brands such as Vinpearl, VinOasis, VinHoliday and Radison Blue, with more than 10,000 rooms. It also has VinWonders Phu Quoc – the largest theme park in Vietnam; Vinpearl Safari- one of the largest semi-wild animal conservation park in Asia; 18-hole Vinpearl Golf Course; Corona five-star Casino, Grand World sleepless shopping and entertainment city and Vinmec Hospital.
Vingroup said: "Grand World, the Sleepless City, is an unrivaled experience which is only available at Phu Quoc United Center. With an area of 85 hectares and a central location, Grand World owns a splendid and magnificent architecture, busy and trendy commercial streets, exciting festivals and parties in addition to bustling entertainment centers of Venice, Shanghai, Night Market, Kstreet and Vietnam. All are operated non-stop 24 hours a day and 365 days a year for a bustling atmosphere and endless and dynamic festival space like famous sleepless cities in the world."
Vingroup added: "This is also the only place in Vietnam where visitors can spend all night long at the first five-star casino open to Vietnamese people. With 1,000 slot machines and 100 game tables and integrated with a 600-seat theater - Corona Casino is comparable to famous casinos in the world. Only in Grand World Phu Quoc will visitors have the opportunity to enjoy entertainment technology with a multimedia show named ‘The Elite of Vietnam,’ discover the largest Bamboo Legend in the country made from 32,000 bamboo tops, visit Teddy Bear museum - a destination that attracts millions of young tourists. Moreover, visitors can also travel on the magnificent Venice-modeled canal, see the ancient Venice Clock Tower and immerse themselves in the 19,500sq.m Marine Square or admire the unique contemporary artworks at Urban Park, etc."
WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS P21
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