Star Cruises gambles on Macau
SINGAPORE 23 January – Star Cruises, Asia’s largest cruise operator, is to operate a casino in Macau in 2009. The casino will be operated through its subsidiary, New Orisol Investment, in which it has a 75% stake. The cruise ship operator will run the casino in a joint venture with Sociedade de Jogos (SJM), which holds gaming concessions from the Macau government. SJM will pay monthly fees to New Orisol for the casino and its provision of services. The casino is located at Resorts World at Macau, near Nam Van Lake in downtown Macau. Star Cruises, sold 255M subscription shares worth $84M each priced at $0.30 to a collection of private individuals and corporations. Profit Boom Investment, a company belonging to Hong Kong tycoon Stanley Ho bought 120M of the shares. The purchase gives him a 3.53% of the total issued share capital in Star Cruises, sources told Fairplay. Star Cruises also plans to raise another $98M from the sale of share options. The $641M casino project will be funded by a combination of debt, equity capital and bank borrowings. Genting International, the parent company of Star Cruises, recently won a hotly contested bid to build an integrated project that includes gaming in Singapore’s Sentosa Island. The news sent Star Cruises’ shares 48% higher to close at HK$3.74 after they had hit HK$4.16 during the day. The closing figure is well above the 52-week closing high of HK$2.53 of the stock.
Etiquetas: cruise market, cruises