The Australian casino developer Crown Resorts Ltd. has put the brakes on a proposed multibillion spin-from its international assets.
In June Crown said it planned to spin off several foreign investments, include its stake in the Macao casino operator Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. and its casino development site in Las Vegas. It owns 27 percent of the Melco Crown. The purpose of the spin-off was to allow Crown’s majoring shareholder James Packer to shield his assets from a downturn in Macau which has been going on for two years.
The proposal was put on the backburner after Chinese police in November detailed 18 employees of the company. This crackdown has caused a decline in high rollers visiting Crown casinos in Australia.
It also caused Crown stock to fall 10 percent since the detentions.
Now that gaming revenues in Macao are starting to climb again, this may be a factor in delaying or even canceling the spin-off. Some market observers say that this could be a good thing in the long term. The Melco casino has seen an upswing in business since the authorities have been leaning hard on its competitors in Macau.
