In a filing to the Bursa Malaysia earlier this month, global casino operator Genting Malaysia said that US$1 billion of proceeds from the sale of real estate in Miami will be used to fund “future investments, as and when they arise.”
The company added that it expects to use those funds “within 48 months” of closing the Miami land deal. “Any excess funds will be used for general working capital,” it stated.
In April, Genting announced that one of its units, Resorts World Miami LLC, would sell four parcels of land in the city for US$1.23 billion. The buyer is Smart Miami City LLC, a subsidiary of developer Terra Group. Genting bought the plots in 2011 with a plan to ultimately develop a casino there. But analysts say opposition from the powerful Seminole Tribe foiled the would-be development, which the operator hoped to build along Miami’s Biscayne Bay.
Now Genting Malaysia is looking north. It’s a likely suitor for a casino license in downstate New York, one of three licenses up for grabs in the New York City area. As a successful existing operator—Genting owns Resorts World New York in Queens—the firm is expected to be a shoo-in for one of the licenses, which would allow it to offer table games as well as slots. In January, the New York State Gaming Commission opened a request for applications (RFA) process for the licenses.
Genting also is an investor in Empire Resorts Inc., which runs the full-scale casino Resorts World Catskills in upstate New York.
Maybank Investment Bank said the Miami land sale will “fortify [Genting’s] balance sheet to put forward a convincing bid to secure a lucrative downstate casino license in New York.”
Genting also owns and operates casinos in Singapore and the Philippines as well as Malaysia. It has more than 30 casinos in the U.K., and three in the U.S.: Resorts World Las Vegas, Resorts World Catskills and the casino it hopes to upgrade, Resorts World New York.
Both Resorts World NY and MGM’s Empire City Casino in Yonkers are expected to win licenses. That leaves just one license available, which will be subject to heavy bidding.
Genting has also announced it will issue MYR500 million (US$112.6 million) in notes under its medium-term notes program. The move will “finance the development and or redevelopment” of the properties of Genting Malaysia, “including those located in Genting Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia,” the company said in a filing.
