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    Greater China
     Mar 23, 2005
Australian casino operator ups stake in Macau

SYDNEY - Kerry Packer's media and gaming group Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd (PBL) (ASX:PBL) has increased its stake in the gaming haven of Macau. PBL and joint venture partner Melco International Development Ltd have entered into an agreement to acquire the remaining 30% of Great Wonders Investments Ltd (Great Wonders) from Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau, S.A.R.L. (STDM).

The joint venture partners will pay $HK400 million ($A65 million; US$51.3 million) for the remaining 30% interest they do not yet own in Great Wonders, a company which will develop and own a proposed luxury hotel and casino in Macau. Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, SA (SJM), which is a subsidiary of STDM, will continue to be the operator of the casino.

The acquisition is subject to the approval of the shareholders of Melco at a meeting to be convened shortly for the purpose of considering the acquisition. The purchase price will be met from the existing funds of the JV.

Kerry Packer's media and gaming group announced its 50-50 joint venture partnership with Melco International Development, a company controlled by the family of Asian casino tycoon Stanley Ho, last November. PBL said the two companies planned to expand further in Asia after their first project, the yet-to-be-built Park Hyatt Hotel and Casino in Macau. Under the November deal, PBL was to gain an effective interest of 28% in the six-star project, while Melco was to retain an effective interest of 42%. This latest transaction increases their stakes.

Macau, formerly a Portuguese possession and now a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China, has grown into one of the largest gaming markets in the world since additional gaming licences were granted four years ago, with a turnover of about $US4.4 billion for the 2004 financial year.

(Asia Pulse)

 

 
 

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