Shedding Crown association
The 300-room Crown Towers hotel at Melco Resorts and Entertainment’s City of Dreams Manila will operate under a new name, Nüwa starting January 16, according to company boss Lawrence Ho.
The new name—reportedly inspired by a mythological Chinese heroine—reflects Melco’s break from Australian casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd. James Packer’s company shed its international assets last year in the aftermath of a 2016 marketing scandal. In October of that year, 18 Crown employees were rounded up and charged with illegally promoting casino gaming in Mainland China. They were detained for up to 10 months before being convicted, released and deported.
Crown Resorts was an investor with Hong Kong-listed Melco International Development Ltd. in its incarnation as Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. According to GGRAsia, a filing in December 2016 said Crown Resorts and its subsidiaries had the right to terminate any license granted under intellectual property agreements if Crown’s share of the Asian venture fell below 25 percent.
A filing stated that the transition period “shall be a period of one year following Crown or its affiliate giving notice of termination in respect of the use of the Crown name and other intellectual property rights as part of the branding in relation to the City of Dreams Macau and the City of Dreams Manila properties.”
In statement, Ho said, “The new hotel brand embodies the very essence of Melco Resorts’ pursuit to provide our guests the very best in sophistication, quality and innovation.”
Last month, angry Crown investors hit the company with a class action lawsuit saying they had been misled about the potential value of Crown stock, which plummeted in the aftermath of the China arrests.
