{"id":35675,"date":"2016-05-06T08:41:25","date_gmt":"2016-05-06T15:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=35675"},"modified":"2016-05-06T11:55:23","modified_gmt":"2016-05-06T18:55:23","slug":"packer-sell-800-million-worth-shares-melco-crown-step-co-chairman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/packer-sell-800-million-worth-shares-melco-crown-step-co-chairman\/","title":{"rendered":"Packer to Sell $800 Million-Worth of Shares in Melco-Crown and Step Down as Co-Chairman"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"James
James Packer looking like he just realized he might have forgotten to turn the gas off before he left for his soiree. Or is he just worried about his company\u2019s credit rating? (Image: news.com.au)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

James Packer\u2019s<\/a> Crown Resorts is to sell $800 million of its shares in Melco-Crown back to the company, reducing its stake in the Macau-based operation from 34 percent to 27 percent. Packer will also step down as co-Chairman of Melco-Crown. His co-chair Lawrence Ho will increase his stake in the company and is said to be supportive of the move.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a surprising one, nevertheless. Just six months ago Packer celebrated the opening of Melco-Crown\u2019s new integrated casino resort, Studio City, Macau, a $4.5 billion project on the Cotai Strip, that was years in the making. At the time, he declared himself to be incredibly excited about “the long-term macro picture for Macau,\u201d despite the region\u2019s persistent decline in revenues.<\/p>\n

It seems Packer is reining in his Eastern expansion, an ambition until recently he pursued tenaciously, and concentrating instead on projects closer to home, and in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

Credit Where Credit Is Due<\/b><\/h2>\n

Crown is in building casino resorts in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth and is also finally about to make its mark on the Vegas Strip. Packer has acquired the plot of land on which the New Frontier Hotel and Casino once stood, where work has begun on the construction of Crown\u2019s Alon development, a $1.9 billion casino resort.<\/p>\n

Analysts have estimated that Crown will need almost $3 billion over the next five years to fund these projects, and the sale of the shares in Melco-Crown<\/a> may be a means of keeping the company\u2019s credit rating on the straight and narrow as it seeks investment.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Late last year it was reported that Crown was having trouble raising the $425 million it wants for the Alon project to help it reduce risk, a fact that may delay the development beyond its 2018 scheduled completion.<\/p>\n

Zero Chance of Privatization\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

Australian financial analyst Bell Potter said this week that the sale of the shares showed that Crown is concerned about its current debt level and is \u201clightening the load.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe major Crown shareholder wanted them to do it, hence the potential for a capital return with part of the $US800m,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

Bell Potter also believes that the sale suggests there is \u201czero chance\u201d of Packer taking the company private, as had been recently speculated. This speculation was fueled by Packer\u2019s decision to step down as director of Crown Resorts last December, just four months after he surprised many by resigning as company chairman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

James Packer\u2019s Crown Resorts is to sell $800 million of its shares in Melco-Crown back to the company, reducing its stake in the Macau-based operation from 34 percent to 27 percent. Packer will also step down as co-Chairman of Melco-Crown. His co-chair Lawrence Ho will increase his stake in the company and is said to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":35677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,18,1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nJames Packer Sells $800 Million Worth Of Melco-Crown Shares<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"James Packer to reduce influence in Macau to concentrate on Australia and Vegas\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"James Packer Sells $800 Million Worth Of Melco-Crown Shares\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"James Packer to reduce influence in Macau to concentrate on Australia and Vegas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/packer-sell-800-million-worth-shares-melco-crown-step-co-chairman\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-05-06T15:41:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-05-06T18:55:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/7a23bb5a4e55a60d9d8a48744e7f392d.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"366\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/packer-sell-800-million-worth-shares-melco-crown-step-co-chairman\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/packer-sell-800-million-worth-shares-melco-crown-step-co-chairman\/\",\"name\":\"James Packer Sells $800 Million Worth Of Melco-Crown Shares\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/packer-sell-800-million-worth-shares-melco-crown-step-co-chairman\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/packer-sell-800-million-worth-shares-melco-crown-step-co-chairman\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/7a23bb5a4e55a60d9d8a48744e7f392d.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-05-06T15:41:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-05-06T18:55:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"James Packer to reduce influence in Macau to concentrate on Australia and Vegas\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/packer-sell-800-million-worth-shares-melco-crown-step-co-chairman\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/packer-sell-800-million-worth-shares-melco-crown-step-co-chairman\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/packer-sell-800-million-worth-shares-melco-crown-step-co-chairman\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/7a23bb5a4e55a60d9d8a48744e7f392d.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/7a23bb5a4e55a60d9d8a48744e7f392d.jpeg\",\"width\":650,\"height\":366,\"caption\":\"James Packer looking like he just realized he might have forgotten to turn the gas off before he left for his soiree. 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