Sun International license transfer challenged
Tsogo Sun Holdings, a leading South African hotel and casino operator, has withdrawn from a deal it made last year to acquire a minority stake in two casinos operated by its rival, Sun International.
The R2.1 million (US$167,000) acquisition deal was first announced in May 2014, reported the South Africa Independent Online. At that time, Tsogo Sun said it would buy 40 percent of Sun International’s SunWest subsidiary, which runs the GrandWest Casino, and its Worcester Casino unit, which runs the Golden Valley Casino. Both properties are in the Western Cape Province.
There are five casinos in the province, two run by Sun International and the other three are owned and operated by Tsogo Sun.
The deal, which was to have finalized in May of this year, was later pushed back to August. In a statement, Tsogo Sun said the two parties could not meet the new deadline and had decided to terminate the transaction.
Meanwhile, the Pretoria News reports that Sun International still plans to transfer its Morula Sun Hotel and Casino license to the R$8 billion Times Square at Menlyn Maine. That move has been challenged by several parties including bingo license operator Goldrush Group Management in a suit against the Gauteng Gambling Board as well as Sun International.
Sun’s original license was issued by the North West Gambling Board for the Morula Sun property. It expired in March 2006 and was never renewed, but was replaced by Gauteng in June 2007, the News reported. The transfer application was filed in July 2014.
Peermont Global once challenged the decision to grant Sun International a license transfer. But the company, which owns the Emperors Palace, was later acquired by Sun International and withdrew its complaint.
