Donaco’s acquisition on track for next month
Donaco’s acquisition on track for next month
Australian casino operator Donaco International said in a filing yesterday that the due diligence process for its $360 million acquisition of Star Vegas Resort and Club in Poipet has been successfully completed.
“All conditions precedent for the execution of the loan agreements have been satisfied.
The remaining conditions . . . are expected to be satisfied by 1 July 2015,” with takeover on that date, the company said. It had originally hoped to close the deal two months earlier than that.
In yesterday’s filing, the casino investor said it intends to sign agreements for a working capital facility and provide $20 million in debt funding.
“This will be used to support the working capital needs of the expanded casino operations in Cambodia and Vietnam,” the firm said.
According to the filing, Donaco’s gaming turnover in May totalled $207 million, which the company described as “robust”.
Ros Phearun, deputy director for financial industry of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, who could not be reached for comment yesterday, told the Post previously that Donaco’s investment was expected to tap the rise in Thai gamblers visiting the Kingdom – 90 per cent of gamblers in the Poipet region are Thai nationals.
Donaco, which runs the Aristo International Hotel, a boutique casino in northern Vietnam, announced the acquisition on January 30 and said the deal would help cater to the Thai market, as Star Vegas hosts travellers from Thailand.
Star Vegas is a fully operational casino and hotel with 109 gaming tables, 1,264 slot machines, and 385 hotel rooms, with more than 5,000 visitors per day on average,
To fund the $360 million acquisition, the company said in May that it had raised $101 million from shareholders and agreed on a $100 million loan from Mega International Commercial Bank.
The National Assembly is expected to approve a casino management bill by the end of the year in a bid to double the revenues of the casino sector and to ensure compliance with international standards.
Last year, a total of 59 casinos generated more than $25 million for the Cambodian government.
